No fewer than 19 passengers died at the weekend after a commercial vehicle, conveying villagers was washed away by a heavy flood at Doguwa Local Government Area of Kano State.
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The incident, occurred on Suguru Bridge along Riruwai village in Doguwa town, about 55 kilometres away from Kano metropolis.
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The Guardian learnt the flood was caused by heavy downpour that lasted hours, which made the defective bridge to collapse, leaving no single survivor.
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Sources in the village revealed that passengers, who were all from Doguwa Local Government Area, lost their lives because the bridge had been abandoned for years.
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They noted that the accident would have been prevented if the driver of the vehicle was aware of the bad state of Suguru Bridge.
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Similarly, the village head of Doguwa, Alhaji Yusuf Umar Doguwa, who narrated the development to journalists, explained that the incident happened about 8:00p.m. on Friday night.
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Yusuf, who declined to speak on the cause of the incident, said 15 lifeless bodies were found at different locations offshore.
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He added that those rescued had already been buried according to Islamic rights while the search for remaining bodies continued.
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Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Alhaji Saleh Jili, who also regretted the development, confirmed recovery of additional bodies with three bodies still missing.
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Jili disclosed that delegations from the agency had already been deployed to commiserate with families of the victims, explaining that government was assessing the situation with a view to addressing the challenges.