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Over 200 Migrants Feared Dead In Boat Disaster On Mediterranean Sea

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boatMore than 200 migrants are feared dead in a boat sinking off the coast of Libya, a Spanish aid organisation says.

Proactiva Open Arms said it had recovered five bodies floating near two capsized boats, which can each hold more than 100 people.

The group’s Laura Lanuza said the five they pulled from the Mediterranean were young men who appeared to have drowned.

A spokesman for Italy’s coast guard, which co-ordinates rescues, confirmed the five deaths.

But he told the BBC that they could not confirm the estimates of deaths given by Proactiva, and said they had received no distress calls from any boats.

Ms Lanuza said at least 240 migrants may have died as the boats were often overloaded by smugglers.

“We brought on board five corpses recovered from the sea, but no lives,” the group wrote on its Facebook page.

“It is a harsh reality check of the suffering here that is invisible in Europe.”

Numbers of migrants trying to reach Europe from Libya via Italy have risen dramatically this year since the route between Turkey and Greece was effectively shut down.

The Italian coast guard said they had co-ordinated more than 40 rescue operations in the last few days, reports the BBC.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says more than 20,000 migrants have arrived in Italy so far this year – and some 559 people are estimated to have died or gone missing en route.

This compares with fewer than 19,000 arrivals in Italy and about 350 deaths in the first three months of 2016.

“We have yet to complete March, and we are already racing at a pace of arrivals that has exceeded anything we’ve seen before in the Mediterranean,” IOM spokesman Joel Millman said earlier this week.

“This is typical of spring, getting very busy, but it’s not typical to have the numbers be so high this early and the corresponding deaths that go with it.”

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Man dies while watching football in Lagos bar

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A yet-to-be-identified middle-aged man has died while watching football at a local bar along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.

It was gathered that the incident happened on Thursday, May 16.

The deceased, who was a regular customer in the open bar, was said to have walked in, sat down, and started to watch a football match until he fell asleep.

Efforts to wake him when the match ended, however, proved abortive as he was found motionless.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, who confirmed the incident, said it was reported at the Elere Police Division.

He said, “The owner of a bar located along Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway reported at Elere Division that at about 6:15 pm on Thursday, one of his male customers in his 50s, whose name and address are yet unknown, came into the open bar to sit and watch television.

“He was later observed to be sleeping on the chair and in an attempt to wake him up, it was discovered that he was lifeless. The scene was visited by detectives of the division, and the deceased was seen lifeless on the chair without any mark of violence.

“The body has been removed to the Mainland General Hospital mortuary, Yaba, Lagos State for autopsy. Efforts to trace his family are in progress.”

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LASEMA rescues young man who mistakenly fell into Lagos lagoon

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

Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, LASEMA permanent secretary, told NAN that the agency received a distress call around 7am on Friday.

Oke-Osanyintolu said the man reportedly fell into the 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 8:02am,” NAN quoted him as saying.

“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.”

Oke-Osanyintolu said information obtained from Lagos State Water Authority (LASWA) revealed that Amoo was seen struggling for survival inside the lagoon.

The LASEMA permanent secretary quoted LASWA officials as saying: “Our staff had, around 11.00 p.m. yesterday 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.

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

Oke-Osanyintolu said the LASEMA response team proceeded to the victim’s home address for further investigations, where the rescue team handed over the victim to his relatives.

He said the victim’s brother claimed that the family had been searching for him for some time.

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Truck rams into BRT on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

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A truck has rammed into a Lagos State BRT bus at Ibafo bus-stop along the Lagos Ibadan Expressway.

Our correspondent who went to the scene gathered that the accident occurred around some minutes to 6am on Saturday.

Officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps and Police on response call at the accident scene insisted that only their Public Relations Officers were authorised to speak.

However, unconfirmed reports from onlookers noted that several people on the BRT bus were injured.

Onlookers accounts noted that the BRT was parked loading its passengers at the bus stop before the truck loaded with cows heading to Lagos rammed into it, taking it off the road to destroy shops and kiosks by the roadside.

The cow truck had been towed a little away from the scene so as not to hinder traffic.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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