Two Brothers Drown In Osun River On New Year Day

There was confusion in the Oke Ijetu area of Osogbo, Osun State, on New Year Day after two kids of the same parents drowned in River Osun. Our correspondent gathered that the kids were playing football close to the river when their ball was played into the river. An eyewitness, who put the age of the two children between 11 and 15, said the younger child went into the river to retrieve the football but did not come out. The older child was also said to have subsequently entered the river with the aim of saving his brother, but got drowned in the process. A third child, it was gathered, also went into the river, but was rescued after his screams attracted some passersby. The passersby were said to have stretched a bamboo pole to the third kid inside the river and he was brought out. The corpses of the two first kids were said to have been taken to a general hospital in the Asubiaro area of Osogbo, while the third child was also said to have been taken to another hospital for treatment. The names of the two kids could not be immediately ascertained as some residents of the area told our correspondent that the kids’ parents just brought them to Osogbo to spend the Yuletide holiday. It will be recalled that two pupils of a public school in Osogbo were drowned in the same river at the same spot over a year ago. The boys were said to have gone to pluck some fruits and they got drowned while attempting to cross the river. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mrs. Folasade Odoro, when contacted, confirmed the Ney Year Day incident. The PPRO said, “The police are aware of the incident. The bodies of the kids have been recovered and deposited in a mortuary. Autopsy will be carried out to ascertain the real cause of their death.”