Firemen Recover Body Of Man After Falling Into Lagos Canal On New Year Day

Personnel from the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service successfully retrieved the remains of Adeyemi Azeez, a 27-year-old man who reportedly plunged into a canal that leads to the Lagoon in the Alapere Ketu area of the state on Thursday.

The Director, LSFRS, Margaret Adeseye, disclosed this in a statement made available to PUNCH Metro on Thursday.

According to Adeseye, the Fire Service was alerted by residents of the community around 9pm on Wednesday about an incident where a man had fallen inside a canal which prompted the rescue team of the agency to swing into action.

She noted that it was unfortunate that after two days of a search operation, the body of Azeez was recovered from the Lagoon.

The statement read, “The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service reports a somber incident involving the recovery of the body of one Adeyemi Azeez, a 27-year-old resident of Community Avenue, Oshogun, Alapere Ketu, Agboyi LCDA.

“On January 3, 2024, at 20:56hrs, the agency received a distress call, prompting a swift response from the dedicated rescue crew at the Ikeja Fire Station. Over a two-day period, intensive search and rescue operations were conducted, culminating in the recovery of Mr. Azeez’s body on Wednesday at approximately 16:05hrs.

“The preliminary investigation indicates that Azeez accidentally fell into the drain collector canal leading to the lagoon on New Year’s Day. The recovered body has been promptly handed over to the Alapere Divisional Police for further procedures.”

Adeseye, while commiserating with the family of the deceased, urged Lagos residents to be cautious of open drainage and wells around their vicinity to avert cases of drowning.

“The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service extends its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Azeez during this difficult time. The public should be very safety conscious because canals, lagoons or any other open water or deep wells are not places where one can wander around.

"They should always distance themselves from these places. You can see that the community and government always try to barricade some of these dangerous places as we always advocate that dangerous places like deep wells and open water should be covered.

"We have set standards on how these places can be protected and we urge Lagosians to abide by these procedures,” the statement concluded.