What drowning man said after rescue from Lagos lagoon

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) says it has rescued a man who mistakenly fell into the lagoon.

The agency’s Permanent Secretary, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday.

Mr Oke-Osanyintolu said the agency received a call through the Lagos State Toll Free Emergency numbers 767 and 112 at 7.43 a.m. that a man had reportedly fallen into the Lagos lagoon at Falomo Bridge.

“Following the distress call, LASEMA activated the state’s Emergency Response Plans with the swift arrival of LASEMA Response Team from Lekki zone at the incident scene at 8.02 a.m.

“On arrival of the team at the incident scene, investigations revealed that the man had been resuscitated, and had identified himself as Segun Amoo.

“He narrated how he mistakenly fell into the Lagos lagoon at the aforementioned location,” he said.

Mr Oke-Osanyintolu said that the information gathered from officials of the Lagos State Water Authority (LASWA) at their Falomo office, revealed that Mr Amoo was seen struggling for survival inside the lagoon.

What Amoo told us after rescue

The LASWA officials said: “Our staff had, around 11.00 p.m. yesterday (Thursday) night, observed Amoo struggling for survival in the lagoon waters after he fell off the bridge, thereby leading to the LASWA Rescue Team’s response.

“Amoo was rescued by the LASWA officials and subsequently stabilised by the agency’s Pre-Hospital Care Paramedics.

“He provided vital information about himself after resuscitation, stating that his home address is at Ilaje-Bariga, Lagos.

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“He also clarified that he was not suicidal, while narrating how the incident of his fall off the bridge occurred.”

Mr Oke-Osanyintolu said that the LASEMA Response Team proceeded to the above-mentioned address for further investigations, where the rescue team successfully handed over the victim to his relatives.

He said that the victim’s brother, Atteji Benuwa, said that the family had been searching for him for a while, and thanked the emergency responders for Amoo’s rescue.

(NAN)