Accordimg to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria revealed that four World Bank officials were reported to have drowned at Egbe Dam in Egbe Ekiti, Gbonyin local government area of Ekiti state. Egbe Dam one of the six dams in Ekiti and it is the biggest of them all.
The chairman of Gbonyin LGA, Folasade Akinrinmola and Ekiti police command confirmed the mishap to newsmen on Thursday, August 25.
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A statement by the council chairman reveals that the accident happened in the late hours of Wednesday, August 24, involving a group of seven contractors working with the World Bank on an evaluation work on the dam. Akinrinmola explained that the men began work in the night of Tuesday, August 23 from one part of the dam and that the mishap occurred when they moved to the other part on Wednesday, August 24.
She stated that the traditional ruler of Egbe community informed her of the boat accident. Akinrinmola narrated saying: “We immediately mobilised a rescue team and an ambulance, and in the process, those wearing life jackets were rescued.
“The rescued people were the ones who told us that others were in the water. “The bodies of those that had drowned were later retrieved by the local fishermen
“One of the dead victims was said to be the son of the leader of the team who providentially escaped unhurt. “We believe that they came to Ekiti based on some of the proposals we had written on the dam on how it can be put to use. We believe that the World Bank has started work on the dam based on their findings.
The Gbonyin LGA chairman described the boat mishap as tragic and unfortunate, adding that the remains of the deceased had since been taken to the mortuary in Ode-Ekiti, the secretariat of Gbonyin LGA.
Alberto Adeyemi, the police public relations officer (PPRO) of the Ekiti state police command, informed journalists of the incident, saying: “It is true that the boat transporting the team capsized, four of them died while three survived.”