Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
Tragedy struck in Onitsha, Anambra State as the first rainfall in the city caused the drowning of a 23-year old girl, Miss Chukwusom Nwoko at Ochanja market roundabout.
The deceased who was a sales girl was said to have closed for the day and was going home when the rain started and she ran into a nearby shop for a cover with some other girls when the incident occurred at the weekend.
An eyewitness said that as the girls were taken cover in a shop along the road waiting for the rain to subside before going home, the owner of the shop allegedly asked them to leave the place as he wanted to lock his shop and go home. But the girls pleaded with him to let them stay for a while due to the heaviness of the rain but he refused.
According to the source, “when the man shut his shop, the girls in anger began exchanging words with him for shutting his shop while they were still inside the shop waiting for the rain to subside before going. They called the man names. As the girls were jumping the big gutter across the shop, the first and second persons had crossed when the man allegedly removed the plank aiding the girls to cross gutter. Then, the last girl allegedly fell inside the gutter and drowned immediately.
It was gathered that immediately the girl fell into gutter some boys went after her trying to rescue her but could not locate her immediately as the water carried the girl close to the River Niger before she was found laying lifelessly.
The body of the girl was said to have taken to Borromeo Catholic Mission hospital morgue by traders at the place.
The Divisional Police Officer in charge of Fegge Division, Mr. Garba Rabiu, a Chief Superintendent of Police, who confirmed the incident said that investigation was on to ascertain the cause of the death of the girl and to arrest and prosecute anybody behind her death.
“We are looking for the man behind her death, we have not been seen him since the incident happened.”