The Kano State Fire Service has confirmed the death of four people who drowned in a blocked waterway at Zangon Kaya in the Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of the state.

This is contained in a statement by the Public Relations Officer of the State Fire Service, Saminu Abdullahi, on Friday in Kano.

He said the incident occurred on Friday.

He said, “We received an emergency call at about 13:48 hrs from one Rabiu Yusif that four people had fallen into a blocked waterway that had accumulated due to the railway line construction. We immediately sent our rescue team to the scene. Two of the victims enter the waterway to swim when they got trapped.”

Mr Abdullahi said that another person who entered the blocked drain to rescue them also got stuck while the fourth person went in to help and got trapped too.

He further explained that with the arrival of the rescue team, the residents were able to pull out two of the victims, while the team recovered the other two.

Mr Abdullahi identified the names of the victims as Bashir Sani, 28, Nasiruddin Tasi’u, 25, Usman Ubale, 26 and Yakubu Muhammed, 22.

“All the victims were rescued unconscious and were later confirmed dead. Their corpses were handed over to SP Abdulkadir Albasu of Dawanau Police Division,” he said.

Mr Abdullahi said that the cause of the incident was as a result of locals swimming in a blocked sewer.

(NAN)