Two teenagers of the same parents have drowned in floods following a downpour in the Eligbolo community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State on Sunday.

The boys, Miracle Peters and Emma Peters, aged 16 and 17 years respectively, drowned while trying to assist someone trapped in the flood.

It was gathered that the duo successfully helped the persons to safety but on their way back, Emma’s footwear slipped off and as they tried to retrieve it, the strong current swept them away.

Their mother, Onyinyechi Peter, narrated the incident to newsmen in Port Harcourt on Monday.

Peters said she had returned home to find out the children were not in the house.

She stated, “I came back and I asked where they were. One of my neighbours now responded that someone had called for them to come and help them. So on their way, the neighbour joined them and helped the person.

“The person was crossing into their house. So they finished helping the person and on their way back, they said the slippers of my son were removed (slipped off) and he fell down.

“They tried to pick the slippers but people were telling them to leave the slippers, however, he kept trying to collect it with my brother.

“So there was no way. The water now carried two of them.:

She added, “The other boy who was with them (Miracle and Emma) came back and told his mother what happened. The mother said she saw them when they were inside the water (floods) but that they thought they were playing and didn’t do anything. They didn’t care.

“Before the water carried my son and his brother, they were shouting for help and one man said he was inside his room when he heard a sound but he couldn’t come out to help.”

While fighting back tears, the woman said, “Since then, I have not seen them (the teenage boys).”

Meanwhile, some residents in the area blamed the tragedy on an overflowing canal along G.U Ake Road in Obio/Akpor LGA which they said have caused constant flooding in the area and called on the state government for assistance.

A female resident who did not want her name in print because of the sensitive nature of the incident said, “Yesterday (Sunday) I went to church and as I was coming back, I saw everywhere was covered with flood. Everything inside my house was tumbled. We slept outside and till now the water is still like that.

“I have been bailing the water since morning. The water is from the canal. When it is filled, the water will react. Even yesterday, two lives were lost. Let the government come to our aid by deepening the canal so that the water can flow well.”

Meanwhile, the manager of a guest house, simply identified as Augustina, also said all rooms in the facility were ravaged by the floods which damaged many items.

“I have never experienced this type of flood before in my life. Everything inside the hotel, speakers, fridge, generator have been soaked in water. The government should come and help us and let them see how they do something in the canal to flow well,” she said.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident, saying the investigation was ongoing, even as she condoled with the families of the boys.

She stated, “Yes, I’m aware, because of the floods, we lost two children. I feel for the mother losing two children in one house. It is very pathetic. We condole with the family and we (police) are investigating the incident anyway.”

This is coming barely two days after the Kano State Fire Service announced the death of two children who drowned on Thursday while swimming in a stream at Hayin Yawa Gada in the Tudun Wada Local Government Area of the state.

Similarly, the service also announced the death of a man whose body was discovered in a well at Jaba Masaka Shago Tara. (The PUNCH)