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One Dead, Two Missing As Car Plung Into River In Kwara
One person has been confirmed dead, two others missing, as men of the Kwara state fire service are searching the accident scene where a Toyota Avensis car plunged into the Oko-Erin River, in Ilorin West LGA of the state.
According to reports, the five occupants of the car, believed to be family members, were headed home on Saturday, when the car plunged into the river at the collapsed section of the bridge, which serves as a link between Taiwo road, Osere and Sawmills area of the town.
It was gathered that the bridge’s bank collapsed as a result of the heavy rainfall which started on Saturday by 9:30 pm and lasted for hours.
According to the state fire service, on approaching the bridge, an occupant of the car alighted to observe the depth of the floodwater when the bridge suddenly caved and he was swept away alongside two other persons who also came down from the car.
The Head, Media, and Publicity of the Kwara state fire service, Hassan Adekunle, told reporters that on getting to the scene for the rescue operation, the men of the fire service recovered a body of one Okechukwu Orwabo and had been searching for the other two.
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Eyewitness report of one Alhaji Raimi Agbaje said the bridge collapsed around 10 pm on Saturday after a heavy rainfall that lasted for more than two hours.
Agbaje made it known that residents couldn’t rescue the victims as they were helpless.
“We waited for the relevant agencies to come, but the victims had been swept away and some of them had died before their arrival,” he stated.
Adekunle, said, “The Kwara State Fire Service was summoned to a rescue operation at the Oke-Erin area on Saturday around 10.30 pm, involving a vehicle with five persons inside, while the bridge was submerged by the torrential downpour.
“However, one Mr. Okechukwu Orwabo was found dead by the Coca-Cola Road. The state fire service will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the remaining victims, namely: Chuben Orwabo and Chibike Orwabo, are found soon.
“The service has been working round the clock to find the other two victims.
The Director, Kwara State Fire Service, Alhaji Yakub Waheed, urged the general public to be careful whenever it is raining.”
The Deputy Governor of the state, Mr Kayode Alabi, on Sunday, sympathized with the families of the victims.
In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary, the deputy governor mourned the victims while inspecting the collapsed bridge alongside the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Adisa Logun.
Alabi called the incident “disheartening as any loss of life is tragic and traumatic.”
He shared his sympathies with the victim’s families and urged the rescue team to add more efforts to find the missing persons.
He also advised the people to stop dumping refuse in drainages or building on water paths to prevent flooding and erosion.
The deputy director of the Kwara state fire service, Mr Falade John, who spoke earlier, said the accident happened when the bridge’s embankment caved and a Toyota Avensis with five occupants fell off the bridge.
John added that two persons survived the accident, sustaining different degrees of bruises, while a body was recovered on the Coca-Cola road, as two others are still missing.
Also commenting on the incident, the State Commissioner for Works and transport, Mr Rotimi Iliasu, urged residents of the state to desist from dumping waste under bridges and waterways to prevent disaster.
Iliasu, while emphasizing the importance of the road, said repair works had begun on the bridge.
He stated, “Consequently, the Oko-Erin Road has been blocked, while some personnel from the state traffic management authority are at the scene of the collapsed bridge to monitor the diversion of traffic.”
Joan
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