7 pupils die as rain wreaks havoc in Nasarawa

AN early morning downpour, on Wednesday, wreaked havoc in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, as seven pupils of Living Foundation Nursery/Primary School were trapped in their classrooms before the rescue team could get there. The pupils were between four and seven years.
The rain, which started a few minutes after some pupils had arrived on the school premises, located within Tuntun-Kauri area on the Lafia-Makurdi Expressway, also affected many houses within the vicinity due to lack of proper drainage.
An eyewitness told Nigerian Tribune that the classrooms which were erected with iron sheets on waterways could not withstand the force of the torrent and was pulled down suddenly. All seven pupils in the class at that time  died instantly.  It was, however, gathered that some teachers, who were at the school when the torrential rain started, abandoned the pupils and ran for  dear lives.
Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that the rescue team from the state fire service could not get to the school environment due to bad road and violent flow of water, until it stopped.
Confirming the incident in his office, the state chief fire officer, Alhaji Dogara Dalhatu, said about four pupils were confirmed dead during the torrential rain.
Dalhatu, who blamed the incident on non-compliance with physical planning regulations, also lamented that the school authorities knew quite alright that it erected illegal structure there.
According to him, “I received a call from the Ministry of Works that there was problem around that area  and you know we all woke up to a downpour and that signified that there was a problem because of lack of proper drainage. People build on the way of water which is very dangerous.
“The report from my men was that there were four dead bodies discovered and they had been deposited at the hospital. What they are doing is not good, especially in Lafia here. People do not comply with the rules and regulations guiding the planning and physical structure in the state. We cannot blame government for this unfortunate incident,” he said.
The state chief fire officer urged the people to always seek for planning authorities’ approval before embarking on building of any structure with a view to putting a stop to unwarranted death in the state.