Tragedy struck in Egbe dam Thursday when four persons, including a man believed to be the son of a World Bank consultant, were reported to have drowned in Egbe River, Egbe community in Gbonyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
The deceased were said to be workers on a World Bank assessment mission to the dam and had commenced work on Tuesday night.
They were said to have come from Development Dams and Irrigation Schemes, Kaduna State and had met their untimely end when a boat conveying the seven of them and their equipment capsized.
Sources said the four that died didn’t wear life jackets, while three who were lucky to be putting on their life jackets survived the mishap.
The bodies of the dead were fished out by local fishermen, who were said to have been mobilised by the Chairman of Gbonyin Local Government Area, Mrs. Folasade Akinrinmola.
In a telephone conversation with newsmen, Akinrimola said she was notified of the incident by the traditional ruler of the community.
“We immediately mobilised a rescue team and an ambulance and those wearing life jackets were rescued. The rescued people were the ones who told us that others were in the water. Their bodies were later retrieved by the local fishermen.”
On their mission to the dam, the council boss said “we believe that they were there based on some of the proposals we had written on the dam and how it could be put to use and we believe that the World Bank had started work on the river based on the calls.”
She described the incident as “unfortunate” and said their bodies had been deposited at the mortuary in Ode-Ekiti, headquarters of the council area.
Confirming the incident, the public relations officer of the Ekiti State Police Command, Mr. Alberto Adeyemi, said “they must have come from the Federal Ministry because dams are owned by the Federal Government; their boat capsized, four of them died while three survived.” Vanguard
