Posted by Amarachi on Fri 07th Apr, 2023 - tori.ng
Eyewitnesses said that the girls were crushed when one of the drivers reversed with the victims directly behind the tanker.
Two girls have crushed to death by a water tanker while an elderly woman sustained injuries in Dusten Kura Gwari area in Minna, Niger state on Wednesday.
The girls were on a queue to fetch water brought to the area by the tanker to address the acute shortage the community has been facing in recent times.
The tanker, which was painted blue and white, was hired for by a good Samaritan to reduce the hardship caused by water shortage.
The situation has been worsened by lack of power supply and dry weather, making all wells and some boreholes to dry up.
Eyewitnesses said that the girls were crushed when one of the drivers reversed with the victims directly behind the tanker.
The girls said to be between 10-12 years died instantly
Eyewitnesses were reported to have grabbed the underage boys without driving license.
They seized the tanker, asking the drivers to call the state water board or the owner.
It took the intervention of the police to get the boys out of the community alive and the truck in one piece.
Niger State Water and Sewage Corporation (NISWASEC) distanced itself from the ownership of the tanker.
The Public Relations Manager of the agency, Zainab Yunusa who confirmed the incident, said that the tanker was just painted in the color of the state government but does not belong to the Agency.