According to punch, four people died and several others were injured when four trees fell on them during a thunderstorm at Jattu market in Edo State's Etsako West Local Government Area. The council chairman, Marvellous Zibiri, confirmed the deaths and injuries, saying the victims had sought shelter under the trees during the rain. A rescue operation is ongoing, and the chairman has urged residents to stay indoors during rainfall to avoid similar incidents.
Four people have been confirmed dead by trees which fell as a result of a thunderstorm in the popular Jattu market in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, following a downpour on Monday.
The chairman of the council, Marvellous Zibiri, confirmed the death of the persons while speaking to journalists at the market.
He said, “Between 8 am and 9 am on Monday, I got a call from my vice chairman and the Supervisory Councillor for Environment about the incident that happened at the Jattu Market.
“During the rainfall, four trees in the market fell at the same time while people took cover under the trees, thereby killing four persons and injuring many others.
So far, we have been able to recover four bodies, and we have taken them to the mortuary while those who sustained injuries are at the hospital responding to treatment.”
The chairman added that a rescue operation was ongoing at the scene as the trees were being cut into pieces to confirm if there were other bodies under them.
Zibiri described the incident as a tragedy and sympathised with families who lost their loved ones, appealing to residents of the local government to stay indoors whenever it rained.