The Tarda village in Ungogo Local Governemnt Area of Kano State was on Tuesday thrown into mourning as three children drowned in a pond after sneaking to go for swimming.
The incident occurred when Abubakar, Uwaisu and Aminu,aged 14, 12 and 11 respectively, were said to have accompanied their fathers, Mallam Hamidan and Mallam Bilyaminu to work on their farm lands, but upon returning home, they sneaked to the pond near the farms for swimming and died there.
Speaking, Hamidan, who is the father of Abubakar and Uwaisu, said that the kids disappeared for a long time after they returned from the farm land, adding that their disappearance drew the attention of the families who quickly embarked on their search.
According to him, as they were searching for the deceased, a farmer rushed and told them that he saw the boys walking towards the pond but could not notice their movement again, adding that ” the situation prompted him to rush to the pond to see what happened only to discovered that the boys might have been drown in the water. That is why he rushed to inform us.”
“After we, ourselves realised that the children must have been drown in the pond, we embarked on plan to evacuate their bodies because the pond was full to the brim. But they were later evacuated by good samaritan after a painstaking effort. We must accept this tragedy as the will of God. It is their time to go. I pray to Allah to rest their soul in peace.”
He however described the deceased as obedient and good children who never tired of helping them in the farms and other house activities, praying to God to give them the fortitude to bear the loss.
Expressing his grief, Mallam Garba Usaini, head of the village, said the boys were of good character, adding that he received the story of the incident with shock.
He called on parents to be vigilant on restraining their wards towards going to the pond to avoid recurrence, noting that the ponds is at its peak period with the coming of the rainy season.
However, Director General, Kano State Fire Service, Balarabe Habu Kabara, confirmed the incident but said he could not provide detail of the operation, saying the details was with the Assistant Director operation of the command, who was in a meeting until the time of filing this report.