3 teenage girls drown in Jigawa pond
Three teenage girls tragically drowned in a pond located in Buji Local Government Area of Jigawa State on Saturday.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the community as families and residents mourn the loss of the young girls.
The spokesperson for the State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), ASC Badaruddeen Tijjani, confirmed the sad occurrence in a statement released on Sunday in Dutse.
Tijjani identified the victims as Fatima Sule, 12, Nasiya Sale, 12, and Huwaila Sa’adu, 13, all of whom were residents of Tulla village.
According to the statement, the tragic event unfolded on Saturday at around 11 a.m. The three girls had ventured to the pond area to cut grasses to feed their livestock when the unfortunate incident occurred.
“The NSCDC personnel operating in the area received a distress call from some members of the Tulla community at about 11:10 a.m.,” Tijjani explained.
“Our team, along with the divisional disaster management officers, rushed to the scene for a rescue mission.”
Despite their swift response, it took approximately 30 minutes of search and rescue efforts before the bodies of the three young girls were recovered from the pond.
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The recovered bodies were immediately transported to the nearest health centre in the area, where medical officials confirmed that all three had sadly passed away.
Further investigation into the incident revealed that the girls had been cutting grasses in the same location where they ultimately drowned. It remains unclear how they fell into the pond.
After the recovery, the remains of the three girls were handed over to their respective families, who have since buried them in accordance with Islamic rites.
The NSCDC Commandant in Jigawa State, Mr. Muhammad Danjuma, extended his heartfelt condolences to the grieving families and urged parents to closely monitor their children, especially during this period when ponds and rivers are overflooded due to heavy rains, to prevent such tragic occurrences.
