Four killed in well trying to retrieve bucket in Cross Rivers State

This is a strange story. Four men including two brothers drowned in a well in their compound at Ogoja Road, Ikom in Cross River State, while trying to retrieve a bucket that fell into the well.

According to a Vanguard report, the first person to enter the well was John Ushie, who lived in the compound. While preparing to go to work that day, he went to the well in the compound to fetch water but the bucket he was using to draw water fell in the well. He thought it was a good idea to try to retrieve the bucket but ended up drowning when he jumped into the well.

His brother, Boniface, who was not around when the incident occurred, rushed home and jumped into the well to rescue his brother but also downed in the process.

When Boniface didn't come out, another neighbor jumped in to try to rescue the two brothers and he too drowned. When the landlord of the house, Eyung Ebam, saw what had happened, he too jumped into the well to rescue the drowned men and...yes, he also drowned. Sounds like something from 'Tales By Moonlight' but apparently this really happened. Continue...


From Vanguard
“It was at this point that nobody was willing to get into the well and the National Drug Law Enforcement, NDLEA, officials who were mounting a road block close to the house called the Fire Service and they arrived soon ”, an eye witness told Sunday Vanguard.

The eye witness explained that when the Fire Service men arrived, one of them jumped into the well with a rope with which he tied the landlord who was the last person to drown  in order to pull him out. “He tied the rope around his chest region and gradually his colleagues dragged him out but when he got close to the point they wanted to grab him and pull him out, the rope slipped and he went down again hitting the others inside which may have eventually killed everyone inside,” the neighbour said.

The four bodies were pulled out by the Fire Service men and taken to County Hospital, Ikom Four Corners and the victims confirmed dead by Dr. Ukwam, the medical doctor, there. An official of the Cross River State Fire Service, Ikom, Mt Linus Ework, said he got a distress  call at about 7 am and he and his men rushed to the scene to rescue the victims but “it was unfortunate that it was a little too late as three of them were pulled out dead”.