BY SUNNY A. DAVID
A 13-year-old girl was swept away by flood in Awka, Anambra State capital, Nigeria while trying to retrieve her wheelbarrow being carried away by torrential flood.
The sad incident occurred along Zik’s Avenue, Awka where the girl’s guardian operates a food retailing shop, on Tuesday evening.
Eye witness told our reporter that there was a heavy downpour that evening and she was alarmed that the wheelbarrow was being carried away by the fast moving flood.
It was in attempt to retrieve the wheelbarrow that she mistakenly missed her step and fell into a drainage and all attempts to rescue her were unsuccessful due to the heavy tide accompanying the flood.
According to an eye witness who gave his name as Johnbull, “the girl was trying to rescue their wheelbarrow, which was being swept away by flood. They were two girls, but one of them, the eldest missed her step and fell into the drainage, and was immediately swept away.
“People around the area rallied round and rescued the girl in a drainage down the road, but before then, she was already dead.
“The woman (guardian) she was helping was wailing helplessly under the rain, and everybody pitied her. From what we gathered, she was not the mother of the girls, they were girls who were helping her in her shop.
“She kept lamenting, asking herself what story she would tell the parents of the child. It was such a horrible sight as the body of the girl was recovered further down the road”, he narrated.
