The bodies of two children, a boy and a nine-year-old girl were found in a drainage following Tuesday’s intense downpour in Minna, Niger State.
Initially, residents in the State capital’s Tunga community believed that the flood had only carried the girl, whose parents are reportedly from Edo State. However, when the girl’s father was reached to identify his daughter, they learnt that a little boy had also perished in the rain floods.
It was discovered that the girl, the only daughter of her parents’ three children, had been ordered to get some ingredients for soup at the Tunga market, which was roughly two kilometres from their home.
She was accompanied by her elder brother, an 11-year-old boy.
They went with an umbrella since the rain had been falling from the early morning hours, although not heavily.
The rain had temporarily stopped when they left the house, but there were still indications that it might continue to pour.
While they were on their way, the rains came down heavily and in torrents.
It swamped Tunga’s roadways and drainage systems almost instantly, making it difficult for cars to move.
They were forced to park as they waited for the floods and rain to stop.
It was learnt that the girl might have slipped and fell into the drainage as both kids were returning from the market.
It was also discovered that as the flood was carrying her away, her brother was shouting to residents in the neighbourhood to help him rescue his sister, who was being swept away by the flood.
The water’s level and the force it carried prevented the people from helping.
They watched helplessly as the water carried the little girl.
The girl continued to be carried by the water while the brother returned home to tell their parents about the tragedy.
The father of the girl was later contacted to identify his daughter’s corpse at a tunnel on Mandela Street (more than five kilometres from where the flood carried her), and when he got there, he found the corpse of the little girl and that of another boy who was also killed by the flood.
In response to the occurrence, after speaking with Hussaine Ibrahim, the spokesman for the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), on Tuesday evening. He expressed shock at the tragedy and stated that the agency will visit the girl’s family to gather further information.
“The agency is not aware of the disaster, but my people will visit the home of the girl at Tunga tomorrow to meet with the parents,” he said.
