Tragedy struck in Koropka, a suburb of Minna, as a 17-year-old girl identified as Elizabeth drowned while attempting to fetch water from a river for domestic use. The heartbreaking incident occurred on Saturday, March 8, 2025.
According to reports from Leadership, residents of Koropka have been struggling without access to pipe-borne water due to ongoing construction work in the community. This has forced them to rely on River Chanchaga as their primary water source.
Eyewitnesses say Elizabeth had gone to the river with her elder sister and some other residents to fetch water when the unfortunate incident happened.
A resident, Zakari Lambata, recounted how the victim’s sister rushed to seek help, but despite their frantic efforts, it took nearly an hour before local youths managed to recover her body.
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“The elder sister of the girl ran to me to help search and rescue her drowning sister. It took almost an hour of searching before the body was recovered by some youth in the area,” Lambata said.
He called on the government and the construction company responsible for the disruption of the water supply to urgently restore access to potable water to prevent further casualties.
“As the river is the major source of water to the people since the water supply from the water board is cut off, there is an urgent need for the government to intervene,” he added.
Residents of Koropka are mourning the loss of the young girl and urging authorities to expedite efforts in resolving the community’s water crisis.