Stephen Dunmoye
Sadness eroded Lekki area of Lagos State on Tuesday after four teenagers drowned while swimming at the Elegushi Beach.
According to report, 10 students of the Kuramo Senior College, Lekki, aged between 14 and 15, went to swim at the beach to celebrate the completion of their West African Senior School Examination.
The spokesperson for the Elegushi Beach Management, Chief Ayuba Elegushi noted that the incident happened at an unmanned section of the beach and said the pupils were not properly registered.
He said, “We initially sent them away from the area of the beach they wanted to swim in. Then, they went to another place that was not for the public at all. It was the child of our kinsman, Abass, who took those kids to the beach.
“They did not pay any gate fee to access the beach. Abass used the leverage that he was one of us to take them through another place.”
The victims were said to have raised the alarm as the water swept them away.
Elegushi said some life guards plunged into the water and brought out six of the pupils.
Out of the six that were rescued, some escaped by the time we got there. We were able to arrest two of them and we took them to the Jakande Police Station.
“As of now, there are still four missing as our seamen have not been able to bring them out of the water. We have informed their parents and they have come to the police station.
“Abass is one of the missing kids. There is another boy we have not identified and two other girls,” he added.
The spokesperson said the two boys arrested told the police that they were chased from the beach before sneaking into the restricted section to swim.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident, adding that investigation was ongoing.
He said, “The teenagers were from Kuramo Senior College, Lekki. Four of them are missing. They are two males and two females. Efforts are on to recover their bodies”.