Three people reportedly drowned while the road linking Bauchi to Kano was cut off after a heavy downpour that flooded the Kwanar Mulka bridge in Ningi Local Government of Bauchi State.
An eyewitness and resident of Kwanar Mulka, Ahmadu Abdullahi, told Daily Trust that the incident happened early in the morning of Friday following torrential rain that made the river overflow its bank, cutting off the highway.
“A bus conveying six passengers fell into the side of the road that was cut off. Two women out of the six persons in the vehicle drowned and the remaining four were rescued. Until now, the two women are still missing. One person also drowned beside the bridge and his body is still yet to be found.
The police public relations officer, Bauchi State command, SP Ahmed Wakil, confirmed the incident, but said that there was no loss of life. He said all the passengers were rescued.
He said the police had barricaded the road to avoid further tragedy.
The Speaker, Bauchi State House Assembly, Abubakar Y. Suleiman, who visited the scene of the incident, said the situation was devastating as the flood washed away parts of the road, disconnecting the people of Bauchi, Kano and Jigawa states.
Narrating his ordeal to the Speaker, one of the motorists, whose car was washed away, Abubakar Abdullahi, said he was on his way from Kano to Adamawa when he ran into the flood water.
He said, “Two other vehicles also fell into the river, Eleven people were rescued while three drowned. Up till now, their corpses are not found.”
The Speaker, who represents Ningi in the House of Assembly, donated money to passengers whose vehicles were washed away by the flood so that they could travel to their destinations. He equally prayed for those who lost their lives.
A resident of the area, who is also the chairman of Ningi Truck Drivers Association, Alhaji Ali Noma Gadar Maiwa, urged the government to immediately tackle the situation.
In a related development, another heavy downpour washed away the topmost layer of the Bauchi-Jos highway, along Nabardo, where a truck conveying 400 bags fell and blocked the road, a situation that caused a heavy traffic gridlock for hours on Friday afternoon.
A resident of Nabardo, Danjuma Garba, said that heavy rain fell throughout Thursday night till Friday morning and flooded many farmlands and washed away part of the highway beside Nabardo market.
