3 Girls Die In Abandoned Ditch In Ebonyi

NO fewer than three girls were at the weekend, confirmed dead at Umuigboke community of Oriuzor, Ezza North Local government area of Ebonyi state as they went to get water from an abandoned ditch in the area.

The deceased girls, Chinonye Peace Mgbada, an Ordinary National
 Diploma, OND, graduate of Institute of Management and Technology,
 I.M.T Enugu, Alice Nwokwu, and Uzoamaka Nwinyima drowned in the ditch despite concerted effort by the people of the area to rescue them.

Vanguard learnt that the bodies of the deceased had already been
 deposited at the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, FETHA

An eyewitness account revealed that one of the deceased girls slipped into the ditch abandoned during mining activities in the area and as the two other girls tried to rescue their friend from the ditch They too were equally swallowed up by the water.

The site over the years had served as the major source of water to the Umuigboke community of Oriuzor despite the construction of manual boreholes in the area by the Local government council.

The victim’s lifeless bodies were however recovered as the ditch was drained using a water distribution tanker which came miles away to drain the water in which the girls lost their lives.

The demise of these girls have brought to the front burner the need for the state government to expedite action and complete the ongoing reticulation of water from Oferekpe and Okawu Water Treatment Plants to all the communities in the state.

Confirming the incident, the Ebonyi state police public Relations
 Officer, DSP Sylvester Igbo stated that the command had begun
 investigation to ascertain whether the incident was an act of God or act of man.

He said the police was yet to arrest any suspect in connection with the death of the girls.