Tragedy struck on Friday in Zangon Kaya, Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State, as four people lost their lives after drowning in a blocked waterway.
The Kano State Fire Service confirmed the incident in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, Saminu Abdullahi.
According to the statement, the incident occurred on Friday afternoon. Abdullahi said, “We received an emergency call at about 13:48 hrs from one Rabiu Yusif that four people had fallen into a waterway blocked that had accumulated due to the railway line construction. We immediately sent our rescue team to the scene. Two of the victims entered the waterway to swim when they got trapped.”
He further explained that a third person attempted to rescue the swimmers but also got stuck. A fourth individual who went in to assist also became trapped.
“With the arrival of the rescue team, the residents were able to pull out two of the victims, while the team recovered the other two,” Abdullahi said.
The victims, identified as Bashir Sani, 28, Nasirudden Tasi’u, 25, Usman Ubale, 26, and Yakubu Muhammed, 22, were all found unconscious and later confirmed dead.
“All the victims were rescued unconscious and were later confirmed dead. Their corpses were handed over to SP Abdulkadir Albasu of Dawanau Police Division,” Abdullahi added.
He attributed the cause of the incident to “local swimming in a blocked sewer.”
