A fatal road mishap in Gombe State has claimed the lives of five teenage siblings
The deceased met their end when a water tanker rammed into a tricycle conveying them to school in Gombe metropolis.
The tragic incident happened Tuesday morning near Kanady Academy, along APC Square in the state capital’s Government Reserved Area (GRA).
The deceased were identified as Maryam Mansir Adamu and Usman Mansir Adamu, both Primary Five pupils of Jekadafari Primary School; Hauwau Mansir Adamu of Government Junior Secondary School (GJSS), Jekadafari; Aliyu Mansir Adamu of Government Day Secondary School (GDSS), Ahmadu Gombe; and Fatima Mansir Adamu, whose school was not specified.
Three other children, including one of the siblings who survived the mishap, were injured in the crash and taken to the hospital for treatment.
The injured victims and the drivers involved in the accident were reportedly taken to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, for medical attention.
The tanker was said to have run over the tricycle after it fell on its side while transporting the children to school.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Sector Commander in Gombe State, Samson Kaura, confirmed the incident, saying corps personnel arrived at the scene after the initial rescue operation.
Kaura said FRSC officials later visited the hospital to ascertain the number of casualties.
The bodies of the five deceased children were deposited at the mortuary.
Speaking after the accident, Mansur Muhammad, the father of five children killed in the mishap, recounted his final moments with the deceased.
According to him, he received a telephone call barely 40 minutes after his children left home for school, informing him that they had been involved in an accident.
He said he was told to come to the emergency unit of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, where some of the injured children had been taken.
When he arrived at the hospital, he saw two of his children alive but could not find the other five. He later learnt that the bodies of the deceased children had been taken to the Specialist Hospital, Gombe.
Mansur said one of the children had given his telephone number to the person who called to inform him about the accident.
He said he rushed to the hospital, hoping to find all his children alive, but was distraught when he learnt that five of them had died.
“The tricycle rider told me that the other children were at the Specialist Hospital. When I got there, I was directed to the mortuary, where I saw the bodies of my five children laid out in a row,” he said.
Mansur said the sight was unbearable, adding that he was the only person allowed to see the bodies because his wives were considered too traumatised to be taken to the mortuary.
He said he had been unwell that morning and had a fever, which prevented him from taking the children to school himself. His junior wife, who is the mother of three of the deceased children, therefore contacted a tricycle rider to convey them to school.
The children, he recalled, had left home in good spirits, repeatedly telling him, “Abba, we are going to school.”
“I kept responding, ‘May Allah grant you success.’ I never knew that was going to be the last time I would see them,” he said.
He particularly remembered his son, Usman, who had complained that he did not have a pen to take to school.
Mansur said he told the boy that he would not buy him an expensive pen because he frequently misplaced them. Instead, he gave him money to buy a cheaper one.
“Usman said, ‘Abba, thank you.’ I did not know that I would never see him again,” he said.
The father said the news of the accident nearly made him lose his breath. He added that he was still struggling to come to terms with the loss of five of his children in a single incident.
Mansur, who has 12 children from two wives, said only seven remained following the tragedy.
“Allah gave them to me, and He has taken them back. I am trying to accept it as a trial from Him,” he said.
He added that the children suffered severe head injuries in the crash.
