It was learnt that eight of the cleaners developed complications due to insufficient oxygen available in the tank to sustain them and got trapped.

A total of seven workers in Lagos State have been rescued by the Deep Blue Team of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

They were rescued following a distress call to the Director General of the agency, Dr. Bashir Jamoh.

In a statement made available to SaharaReporters on Saturday by NIMASA’s Assistant Director, Public Relations, Osagie Edward, a Safety Officer on MT ALIMA on Thursday at about 11.30pm in a distress call reported that while cleaning the tanks of the vessel by a private cleaning company.

It was learnt that eight of the cleaners developed complications due to insufficient oxygen available in the tank to sustain them and got trapped.

“Dr. Jamoh, who immediately directed the NIMASA Head of the Deep Blue project and Head of the Maritime Safety Department to deploy one of the fast intervention boats for rescue operations and also directed immediate medical attention to the survivors.”

Edward said that NIMASA took the seven survivors to the military hospital at Ikoyi for medical attention where they were presently recovering at various degrees, adding that five of them were currently stable while one had a broken leg and one was still in critical condition.

“While reassuring the maritime community of NIMASA’s ever-ready 24-hour vigilance to respond to distress calls using any of the procured air, land and sea assets, Dr. Jamoh urged operators to be meticulous about basic safety standards at all times.

“He advised further that anyone working on board vessels should update themselves with required training that complies with Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) in line with the revised Manila Convention. Jamoh thanked the rescue team for the operation and urged them to keep the maritime tradition of round-the-clock watchkeeping and timely response at all times,” the statement added.

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