Heavy rainfall claims 4 in Jos
Four persons have been confirmed dead following hours of heavy rainfall that caused rivers in Jos North and Jos South local government areas of Plateau State to overflow.
The heavy downpour had caused a river at Rikkos in Jos North to overflow, sweeping two brothers away while another river at Rafin Bauna in Jos South killed a butcher, it was gathered.
A young lady inside a parked tricycle also died when a thunderstorm hit a tree which collapsed on it at Rikkos junction in Jos North on Thursday evening.
Bashir Mohammed, a family friend of the deceased brothers, said the river at Rikkos had damaged some homes, washing them away in the process. He gave their names as Usman and Ali, adding that their corpses were discovered at the river bank on Friday morning.
On the thunderstorm, Hassan Umar, another resident of Rikkos said, “A tricycle driver had parked by the tree and gone out. I think he left to look for change while the young lady was in the tricycle. A thunderstorm shook everywhere and the tree fell on the tricycle. Many of us tried to lift the tree but we could not, so we called someone who used an electronic saw to cut parts of the tree and we were able to remove her. She was alive at that time and we put her in a car to be moved to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), but she died before getting to the hospital.”
In Rafin Bauna, the youth leader of the community, Yakubu Haruna, told our correspondent that the corpse of a 25-year-old butcher, Sani Aliyu, was recovered yesterday morning and had been buried.
Haruna said, “A few weeks back, the river overflowed and washed away a young girl who was returning from school. This is happening because there is no bridge there. And we don’t have an alternative to that river. It is the only road that links us to Jos city.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, Plateau State command, SP Abu Emmanuel, said he could only confirm the death of the young lady in a tricycle, adding that another victim was receiving treatment in the hospital.