A university undergraduate has died after floodwater swept her away when the vehicle conveying her and her father was pushed into a drainage channel in Asaba, Delta State.
The Punch reported that the incident occurred on Monday at Okotimi Layout, behind the Asaba Specialist Hospital, following heavy rainfall in the area.
The deceased was reportedly travelling with her father in a Toyota Corolla when the floodwater overwhelmed the vehicle and pushed it into the canal.
A source said the father was taking his daughter to the location where she was undergoing her industrial training when the incident occurred.
“He was driving to a place where the daughter was doing her industrial attachment. As he was driving, the road was flooded, and the water was pushing the vehicle into the drain,” the source said.
According to the source, the undergraduate, who was seated in the front of the car, raised her hand and called for help before she was carried away by the floodwater.
Her father was rescued from the vehicle and taken to a hospital for treatment.
The Delta State Emergency Management Agency, under the Ministry of Bureau for Special Duties, confirmed the incident.
The Commissioner for the Bureau of Special Duties, Ejiro Terry Etacherure, said SEMA immediately began searching for the missing undergraduate and engaged divers to assist in the operation.
He said the search continued until Wednesday when boat operators around the Otogwu River axis of Anwai Road contacted the agency after spotting a floating body.
“The State Emergency Management Agency intervened in the search for the girl. We looked for divers, and they had been searching for her since Monday until this morning when boat riders at Otogwu River in Anwai Road called SEMA,” Etacherure said.
The commissioner said a family member was contacted to identify the body, while an ambulance from the Asaba Specialist Hospital transported the remains to the hospital morgue.
Residents said the tragedy was not the first incident involving vehicles being swept into the drainage channel during heavy rainfall.
An eyewitness, who declined to be named, said a Mercedes-Benz GLK and a Lexus had previously fallen into the canal.
“The last one that fell inside is the Corolla, which involved the death of a young girl. This is not the first incident because vehicles usually fall into the canal back to back,” the eyewitness said.
The eyewitness blamed the recurring incidents on inadequate drainage, arguing that the existing channel was unable to contain the volume and force of floodwater during heavy rainfall.
“It is the drainage because there is none good there. You cannot expect a small drainage for a flood. Things don’t work like that,” he said.
The deceased’s uncle, Andy Emephia, who confirmed the family’s bereavement, called for urgent action to address the drainage problem.
“We are bereaved now. My brother will be more scattered if he sees these questions. Why not draw your publication from the angle of the drainage that is not properly covered? That’s the main issue,” he said.
Residents have subsequently urged the relevant authorities to urgently address the drainage problem to prevent further loss of lives and property during heavy rainfall.
