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Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Tragedy struck in Asaba, the Delta State capital, Monday evening when torrential floods swept away a polytechnic graduate identified as Chinedu Igboke.
The flood was occasioned by a heavy rainfall that pounded the capital city for hours.
Reportedly in his thirties, the victim, said to hail from Ebonyi State, was working as a security guard in a private school along Shekinah Love Assembly Street, Off Ralph Uwechue Way, Okpanam Road, Asaba.
An eyewitness told Daily Sun during a visit to the scene on Tuesday that the deceased was directing traffic on Shekinah Love Assembly Street following the gridlock along Okpanam road, when a misstep caused hi to fall into an uncovered gutter along the earth road.
The spot where he was said to have fallen was almost over grown with weeds, as observed by Daily Sun.
The eyewitness said that the gutter was filled with running water when Igboke fell into it, adding that before help could be rescued, he had already floated into the deep tunnel which channels storm waters from the into the Anwai River.
“When he fell into the water, he slammed his head against the concrete walls of the gutter. So he might have lost strength to swim against the tide before being floated helplessly into the tunnel,” the witness said.
According to the source, the school authority where Igboke worked as a security guard, mobilised divers and swimmers to comb Anwai River to recover his body.
“We suspect that the body may be hanging somewhere along this tunnel because of blockade inside. We went with them to the river but they could not recover his body,” the witness added.
The uncovered gutter and deep tunnel through which Igboke was swept are part of the ongoing comprehensive storm water control projects in parts of Asaba by the state government.
Earlier in the year, three people, including a girl of about ten years, were swept away by rampaging flood waters along Okpanam road.
