13-year-old drowns in Kano

11 crushed to death in Katsina during Eid celebrations
A 13-year-old boy, Usman Faisal, has drowned while taking his bath in a pond at Gadam Village of Ungogo Local Government Area in Kano State, according to an official.

Saidu Mohammed, the spokesperson of the Kano State Fire Service, made the disclosure to newsmen in Kano yesterday. Mohammed said the incident happened on Tuesday morning when the deceased went to take his bath.

“We received a distress call from one Haruna Hamza at about 9:10a.m. that a body was found floating on a pond. On receiving the information, we quickly sent our rescue team to the scene at about 9:20a.m.

“Faisal was found dead and his body was later handed over to the ward head of Dandishe, Alhaji Salisu Almustapha,’’ he said.

The spokesperson advised members of the public, especially children who could not swim to stop bathing in ponds. He also advised parents and ward heads to enlighten their wards to stay away from open water bodies to prevent harm, including contracting of diseases.

On May 24, another boy, Auwalu Ibrahim, was found dead in a pond at Kwanar Ungogo in the same local government area.

Meanwhile, 11 persons have lost their lives following a ghastly motor accident in the Katsina metropolitan area of the state. The victims, all youths lost their lives in the road accident on Sunday night while celebrating Eid-el-Fitri. Mr. Godwin Ngueku, the Katsina State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), confirmed the incident to newsmen on Monday.

Ngueku said the accident occurred when a Peugeot saloon car carrying the youths had a head-on collision with a tipper truck along Katsina-Niger Republic highway.

The incident, which occurred on Sunday night at about 8:00p.m. happened at Natsinta village, close to the army barracks, along Jibia-Katsina road. All the 11 persons who lost their lives were males, with everyone in the Peugeot vehicle said to have died on the spot.

The spokesman of FRSC in the state, Abdullahi Ibrahim, said the accident happened due to over-speeding. Ibrahim, however, did not give more details on the accident, including the registration numbers of the two vehicles.

“The bodies were evacuated to the Katsina General Hospital mortuary at 9:00p.m. on Sunday night. The family members of the victims have started picking the bodies for burial,” Ngueku said.

The sector commander appealed to parents to caution their children against reckless drinking and driving along the highways. There were several minor road accidents during the Sallah celebration in the state.