Three teenage girls lost their lives after drowning in a pond in Buji Local Government Area of Jigawa State on Saturday.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in the state, ASC Badaruddeen Tijjani, confirmed the incident on Sunday in Dutse.
The victims, identified as Fatima Sule (12), Nasiya Sale (12), and Huwaila Sa’adu (13), were all residents of Tulla village.
According to Tijjani, the incident occurred around 11 a.m. on Saturday when the girls were gathering grass to feed their livestock near the pond.
“The NSCDC personnel operating in the area received a distress call from some members of the Tulla community at about 11:10 a.m. and rushed to the scene with the divisional disaster management officers for a rescue mission.
“And together with the people of the community, they were able to recover the bodies of the three young girls after about 30 minutes of search and rescue operation,” the statement said.
It explained that the recovered bodies were immediately rushed to the nearest health centre in the area, where they were confirmed dead.
The statement added that the investigation revealed that the deceased cut some grass at the same place, where they were drowned.
It stated that the remains of the girls were handed over to their respective parents and have been buried according to Islamic rites.
The statement said the NSCDC Commandant in the state, Mr Muhammad Danjuma commiserated with the families of the deceased and enjoined parents to look after their wards, especially at a time when ponds and rivers were over flooded to avoid such incidents.
