Flood claims lives as mother, child, others go missing

A heavy downpour in Zaria, Kaduna State, has claimed multiple lives after floodwaters swept away a mother, her child, and others.

Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred along Gaskiya Road near a church in Tudun Jukun, where floodwaters overflowed a large roadside drainage.

One of the victims, identified as Yusuf Surajo, popularly known as Abba, was recovered lifeless and buried according to Islamic rites after funeral prayers led by Imam Mallam Musa Umar Al-Mishawi at Kwarin Dangoma. He was said to have sustained a head injury.

However, several others remain missing, including Fatima Sani Danmarke, her three-year-old child, and a motorcyclist who was conveying them when the tragedy struck.

According to eyewitness Mustapha Badamasi (Dan Bakano of Tudun Jukun), the motorcycle had struck the edge of the drainage when Fatima attempted to cross on foot. She slipped, plunging into the surging water along with her child and the rider.

“A good Samaritan who tried to rescue them was also carried away by the current,” Badamasi recounted.

Search efforts were still ongoing as of press time to locate the missing victims.