Tragedy: Landslide buries 9 people alive in Cross River

by ‘Jola Sotubo

Gov-Liyel-Imoke

Residents of the Edim Otop community in Calabar yesterday lost not less than nine of their number to a landslide.

The landslide, which occurred on Wednesday in the Cross Rivers state capital , resulted in nine persons being buried alive and many others sustaining injuries.

This development was made known by the Information Director, Cross River State Emergency Management Agency, David Akate, in Calabar yesterday.

According to reports,  the landslide occurred after a heavy rain, which lasted for more than five hours. Akate, however, said having warned residents of flood-prone communities of impending flood-related crisis, the Cross River State Government expected them to have vacated such areas.

He said: “We have been talking to members of that community for several years now to vacate there.

“We have been telling them that the place is not only a ravine but a flood-prone area, but they refused to take our advice.”

Akate said the government had taken responsibility for the treatment of the survivors, whom he said were responding to treatment.
According to him, the corpses of the deceased have been deposited at the state General Hospital mortuary.

An eyewitness, Eno Akpan, said: “We were just sitting outside discussing about the downpour when suddenly we saw trees rolling down from the top of the hill.

“Within a twinkle of an eye, it collapsed on the building and buried the entire occupants.

“Well, at that time, there was nothing we could do because everybody started running away in confusion and we were hearing cries and shouts of some of children from within the house.

“But by the time help could come, the family was gone and only three were rescued.”

Comments (2)

  1. God have mercy

  2. You have been warning them, warning them to go where? How do you expect a whole community to just relocate? It was your responsibilty to relocate them to a new location. That’s our leaders for you, they just brainwash us with the little ineffective and incomplete efforts they make and we’re carried away. Now he is like ‘they were warned, so we have no blame’, and the followers will say ‘yes the government did its part’. Forgetting that relocating costs and the hardship of this nation plus other factors makes it difficult for an individual or family to just relocate

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