Landslide Kills Four Siblings, One Other in Calabar Community
By Ebi COLLINS
A devastating landslide triggered by torrential rainfall has claimed the lives of five persons, including four siblings from the same family, in Ikot Awatim Community, Ikot Ansa, Calabar Municipality Local Government Area of Cross River State.
The incident occurred on Friday night following hours of heavy rainfall that has continued to batter Calabar, causing flooding, erosion and extensive damage to homes and property across the city.
The victims were identified as Bright Kingsley Edu (18), Godswill Kingsley Edu (12), Daniel Kingsley Edu (11) and Richard Kingsley Edu (10), all children of Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley Edu. Also killed was a man identified simply as Mr. Udo, believed to be a tanker driver attached to a fuel depot.
Residents said the children’s mother had attended a church service with them when the heavy rain began. Concerned about the worsening weather, the children reportedly left the church ahead of her to return home, while their father, a Homeland Security personnel, was away on official duty.
According to their mother, Mrs. Mercy Kingsley Edu, popularly known as Mama Uwana, the children returned home, changed into dry clothes and lay down to rest before the landslide struck, burying the house and trapping them beneath the debris.
Community youths mounted an overnight rescue operation, digging through the rubble in search of survivors. However, all five victims were recovered dead.
Speaking at the scene on Saturday, Mrs. Edu, a waterleaf farmer, said the landslide destroyed not only her home but also everything the family owned.
“Everything was buried in the landslide, taking my children and leaving us hopeless and homeless,” she lamented.
In an emotional outburst, the grieving mother said, “Why me? Four out of seven gone in one day. My husband never buys anything for himself because he wants his children to go to school. Three boys and a girl… all gone.”
Her husband, Mr. Kingsley Edu, was too devastated to speak as sympathizers gathered at the scene to console the bereaved family.
The bodies of the four children were buried shortly after they were recovered, while the remains of Mr. Udo were deposited in a mortuary.
The tragedy has thrown Ikot Awatim Community into mourning, with residents and sympathizers trooping to the scene to offer condolences and witness the scale of the devastation.
Community members have appealed to the Cross River State Government and well-meaning Nigerians to assist the bereaved family, which has lost four children and its home to the disaster.
The latest incident comes barely three days after floodwaters claimed the life of a one-year-old child and destroyed property worth millions of naira along Mayne Avenue by Atu Street in Calabar South Local Government Area.
Residents have renewed calls for urgent government intervention to address the increasing threat of flooding, erosion and landslides in vulnerable communities across Cross River State as the rainy season intensifies.
