BY EVELYN USMAN, BOSE ADELAJA & MONSUR OLOOOPEJO

LAGOS—THE bloated body of a passenger who drowned after a boat capsized Tuesday at Coconut Island, Lagos, was yesterday recovered.

The ill-fated boat reportedly left Iba with 10 passengers and was heading for Tin-Can Island when it capsized.

Nine passengers were reportedly rescued alive, while rescue operators battled in vain to rescue one of them identified as Idris Adekunle same day.

Spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, South West zone, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, disclosed that Adekunle’s remains were recovered by 4.15pm yesterday.

He noted that men of the Marine Police Corps, Onikan, and relatives of the deceased were deliberating on how the body would be released for burial.

Farinloye claimed the tragic incident occurred after wave from a tug boat belonging to the Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA which was towing a ship to habour , swept off the local boat, making it to lose balance and capsized.

Passengers on the boat who were reportedly with their life jackets were flung in different directions in the process.

While some of them managed to swim to safety, others could not, until rescue operators arrived .

Farinloye said: “Two of the passengers that had minor injuries were rushed to the hospital where they were treated and discharged while others left for their respective destinations.