Nine die as car plunges into dam in Kano

Kano State Fire Service has confirmed the death of nine passengers after their vehicle plunged into Fada Dam in Gwarzo local government of the state.

According to the statement by the Service Public Relations Officer (PRO), Saminu Yusuf Abdullahi, on Sunday, stated that the incident occurred on Saturday at about 6.45 pm.

The statement said, “On Saturday 19th November 2022, state fire service received an emergency call through Ali Mai Faci, at about 18:45 hrs and he reported an incident at Fada dam Gwarzo LGA Dayi road.”

He disclosed that the accident involved a Golf wagon car with 12 passengers coming from Kano and heading to Katsina.

It was gathered that the accident occurred as a result of a faulty vehicle parked in the middle of the road without proper beckoning for motorists to take caution.

He said the accident happened when the Golf driver lost control and plunged into the dam after hitting a stone placed close to the faulty vehicle which was hardly noticed due to poor visibility as the sun had already set.

The source attributed overloading and lack of quick response from authorities to the number of casualties recorded during the incident.

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According to an eyewitness, “the vehicle which was meant to officially carry a driver and four passengers had fifteen persons onboard. And for more than two hours there was no intervention from the fire service despite being informed and the short distance between the scene of the accident and Gwarzo town which was just less than ten kilometers.

“Rescue operation commenced only when good Samaritans decided to block the road to engage all motorists plying the road to support the victims.”

He stated that attempts to pull the car out of the dam using a trailer and canter truck proved abortive.

“Fire service did not report to the scene up until 8:47 pm when the rescuers gave up leaving one person in the river after all efforts to get him out probed abortive,” the eyewitness said.

A statement from the fire service read: “When our men from Gwarzo fire station reached the area at about 19:10 hrs, they found that a Golf Wagon with an unknown registration number, coming from Kano heading to Katsina, fell inside Fada dam.

“Twelve people of Katsina State were rescued, all with unknown names. Victims involved are two girls of about six months, four women of about 30, 28, 27 and 25 years old, as well as six men of about 48, 45, 42, 40, 35 and 28 years old.”

The statement added that “with a good effort of our men and local fishermen, we successfully rescued three persons alive, while nine people unconscious and conveyed all victims to Gwarzo General Hospital for medical attention and doctors confirmed the death of nine people among the victims.”