Four bankers drown in Onitsha flood

Four bankers drowned following a heavy downpour in Onitsha, Anambra State and its environs. The deceased, said to be workers of one of the commercial banks located along Obodoukwu road, Ogbaru local government area, were said to be on their way home when the incident happened.

It was gathered that the deceased had boarded one of their official vehicles, having resolved to defy the rain, which lasted till after close or work. The driver of the vehicle, said to be the bank’s accountant, struggled to beat the flood that had covered the entire road, but could not as the vehicle suddenly plunged into the drainage channeled to the River Niger.

A trader along Obodoukwu road, who simply identified himself as Okechukwu, said all the occupants of the car got drowned in the drainage as the vehicle was completely covered in the flood.

“The flood carried the vehicle to the Sakomori (drainage) which is about 15 feet deep and filled to capacity. The driver tried to resist the force of the flood but could not because of the size of the vehicle.

“I saw about four of them with one little girl as they were panicking inside the vehicle. After the rain, the vehicle was recovered with three out of the four of them,” he said.

According to him, the body of the accountant was later recovered the next day, adding that it was not certain if the little girl was carried into the River Niger by the flood.

Another witness who pleaded anonymity, said it was regrettable that the drainage constructed to control the high volume of flood in the area could wreck such havoc.

Efforts to reach the Okpoko Divisional Police Officer for confirmation proved abortive, but a Senior Police Officer who preferred anonymity said they were aware of the incident. He however revealed that the bodies had since been deposited in a nearby morgue.