TRAGIC: World Bank officials drown in Nigeria River (PHOTOS)
– Four World Bank officials died when the boat they were travelling in capsized
– Accident happened in a local river in Ekiti state, Southwest Nigeria
– Passengers were said to be surveyors by profession
The News Agency of Nigeria gathered that four World Bank officials were reported to have drowned at Egbe Dam in Egbe Ekiti, Gbonyin local government area of Ekiti state.
Egbe Dam one of the six dams in Ekiti and it is the biggest of them all.
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Folasade Akinrinmola, the chairman of Gbonyin LGA and Ekiti police command confirmed the mishap to newsmen on Thursday, August 25.
The council chairman stated that the accident happened in the late hours of Wednesday, August 24, involving a group of seven contractors working with the World Bank on an evaluation work on the dam.
Akinrinmola explained that the men began work in the night of Tuesday, August 23 from one part of the dam and that the mishap occurred when they moved to the other part on Wednesday, August 24.
The boss stated that the traditional ruler of Egbe community informed her of the boat accident.
Akinrinmola narrated saying: “We immediately mobilised a rescue team and an ambulance, and in the process, those wearing life jackets were rescued.
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“The rescued people were the ones who told us that others were in the water. “The bodies of those that had drowned were later retrieved by the local fishermen.
“One of the dead victims was said to be the son of the leader of the team who providentially escaped unhurt.
“We believe that they came to Ekiti based on some of the proposals we had written on the dam on how it can be put to use. We believe that the World Bank has started work on the dam based on their findings.”
The Gbonyin LGA chairman described the boat mishap as tragic and unfortunate, adding that the remains of the deceased had since been taken to the mortuary in Ode-Ekiti, the secretariat of Gbonyin LGA.
Alberto Adeyemi, the police public relations officer (PPRO) of the Ekiti state police command, likewise informed journalists of the incident, saying: “It is true that the boat transporting the team capsized, four of them died while three survived.”
About a two hours ago, a lifeless body of a man identified as Seun was reportedly fished out from Majidun river in Ikorodu area of Lagos state.
See photos below:
Four out of seven surveyors who came from the Development Dams and Irrigation Scheme, Kaduna state to Ekiti state for a job inspection, lost their lives after the boat they were sailing in capsized in the Egbe river, Ekiti state on Wednesday, August 25. The incident according to eyewitnesses happened at about 5:30pm. Their bodies were recovered by local fishermen and fire brigade with help of police force.
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