Two secondary school students drown in Ekiti river

Two students of the Ado Grammar school in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital died at the weekend inside Ureje river along the federal polytechnic road during a swimming expedition.

Tribune Online gathered that the two students whose identities were not known as at press time, died at a deeper portion of the river, which stretched from Ajilosun and flowed down to Odo Ado region of the state capital.

A source who spoke with our correspondent said about seven students of the school scaled the fence when academic works were ongoing to swim in the river, where two of them were drowned on Friday.

He said: “The academic works were ongoing when they left school. They went to the deeper side of Ureje river to swim and two of them were trapped in the mud and died.

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“One of the survivors said though four of them jumped into the river before sensing that the two victims were no longer floating on the water.

“Those on the river cliff had to run to a farmer working around the river. It was the man who called on some swimmers farming in the area to come and rescue the students that were still afloat before bringing out those that were already dead.”

The source added that the farmers later ran into the school compound to inform teachers.

He said the development was said to have evoked cries and wailings among the staff and students.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti Command, DSP Caleb Ikechukwu, while confirming the incident said the students’ corpses had been deposited in the morgue.

“We learnt the students went to the river to swim and got drowned. Their bodies had been taken to the mortuary,” he said.

Ikechukwu said other students who were part of the swimming expedition would help the police in conducting a thorough investigation into the pathetic incident.