Five persons, including four children from the same family, have lost their lives after a landslide swept through Ikot Awatim Community, Ikot Ansa, in Calabar Municipality Local Government Area of Cross River State.
The disaster occurred on Friday night following hours of intense rainfall that caused flooding, erosion and destruction of buildings and property in several parts of Calabar.
The deceased siblings were identified as Bright Kingsley Edu, 18; Godswill Kingsley Edu, 12; Daniel Kingsley Edu, 11; and Richard Kingsley Edu, 10. They were the children of Mr and Mrs Kingsley Edu. Another victim, identified simply as Mr Udo, a tanker driver reportedly attached to a fuel depot, was also killed in the incident.
According to residents, the children had attended a church service with their mother, Mrs Mercy Kingsley Edu, popularly known as Mama Uwana, when the heavy rainfall started. Worried about the worsening weather, the children were said to have left the church before their mother to return home, while their father, a Homeland Security personnel, was away on duty.
The mother explained that the children arrived home, changed their wet clothes and went to rest before the landslide occurred, collapsing the house and trapping them underneath the debris.
Following the incident, community youths launched a rescue operation that lasted through the night as they searched through the rubble for possible survivors. However, the bodies of all five victims were eventually recovered.
Speaking at the scene on Saturday, Mrs Edu, who is a waterleaf farmer, said the tragedy had wiped away everything her family owned.
“Everything was buried in the landslide, taking my children and leaving us hopeless and homeless,” she said.
Overcome with grief, the bereaved mother cried out: “Why me? Four out of seven gone in one day. My husband never buys anything for himself because he wants his children to go to school. Three boys and a girl — all gone.”
Her husband, Mr Kingsley Edu, was unable to speak as sympathisers gathered around the family to offer support.
The remains of the four children were buried shortly after they were recovered, while Mr Udo’s body was taken to a mortuary.
The incident has plunged Ikot Awatim Community into mourning, with residents expressing shock over the scale of the destruction and calling for assistance for the bereaved family.
Community members have appealed to the Cross River State Government and public-spirited individuals to support the family, which lost both their children and home in the disaster.
The landslide occurred just days after a one-year-old child reportedly died in a flood incident along Mayne Avenue by Atu Street in Calabar South, where properties worth millions of naira were also destroyed.
With rainfall intensifying across the state, residents have renewed calls for urgent measures to tackle flooding, erosion and landslide risks in vulnerable communities.