Two brothers, Miracle Peters, 16, and Emma Peters, 17, have tragically drowned in floodwaters following a downpour in the Eligbolo community of the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State on Sunday.
The teenagers drowned while trying to assist a person trapped in the surging flood.
Mother Narrates Heartbreaking Incident
The mother of the victims, Onyinyechi Peter, recounted the incident to newsmen in Port Harcourt on Monday, explaining that the boys had successfully helped the trapped person to safety. The tragedy occurred on their way back when a seemingly simple error turned fatal.
“They finished helping the person and on their way back, they said the slippers of my son were removed (slipped off) and he fell down,” the distraught mother narrated.
“They tried to pick the slippers but people were telling them to leave the slippers, however, he kept trying to collect it with my brother. So there was no way. The water now carried two of them.”
She returned home to find the boys missing and was later told by a neighbor that they had been swept away. According to her, another boy who was with them confirmed that they were shouting for help, but onlookers failed to assist, with one man allegedly saying he was indoors and could not come out.
The mother concluded, fighting back tears: “Since then, I have not seen them (the teenage boys).”
Community Blames Overflowing Canal
Residents in the Eligbolo community are blaming the tragedy on a persistent flooding issue caused by an overflowing canal along G.U Ake Road in the Obio/Akpor LGA. They are now urgently appealing to the state government to intervene and address the constant flooding in the area to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
Source: ladunliadinews
