Eniola was in Mafoluku to spend the holidays with a family. She was paying with other children who lived around when the cover of the well caved in.
10-yr-old girl dies playing beside well
Eniola Sodipo, 10, has drowned in the well of a private residence on Atanda Street, Mafoluku, Oshodi area of Lagos State.
Her body was recovered by personnel of the Lagos State Fire Service around 2pm on Monday and then handed over to policemen from the Akinpelu Police Division, Punch reports.
A Fire Service official who was involved in the rescue said:
“The girl was on a holiday visit to a family in the house. She was playing around with her friends.
The landlady said she always chased them away from the well and warned them not to play around the place. She said she had returned to her room in the morning, when the kids returned to the place and continued to play there. It was then that the wooden slab used to cover the well gave way, and she fell into it.”
The children who were playing with her quickly raised an alarm and people had struggled to rescue her without success.
The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, said the agency received a distress call at 2.48pm.
He said the Ikeja Fire Station was deployed to the scene.
He said:
“But by the time we got there, the girl was dead. We discovered that the well was covered with wooden structure. She was playing on top when she fell inside.
All tenants and landlords must ensure their well are well covered and should have a padlock when not in use, to prevent ugly incidents like this. Domestic wells should also not be parallel to the ground. Every well that is constructed with blocks, should be changed to rings.”
He said the agency would start combing every nook and cranny of the state to check the wells of residents.
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