Four people were confirmed dead when trees fell after a thunderstorm hit the popular Jattu market in Etsako West Local Government Area, Edo, Nigeria.
The Chairman of the council, Marvellous Zibiri, confirmed the death of the persons while speaking to journalists at the market.
He said, “Between 8:am and 9:am on Monday, I got a call from my vice chairman and the supervisory councillor for environment about the incident that happened at the Jattu market.”
During the rainfall, four trees in the market fell at the same while people were taking cover under the trees thereby killing four persons and injuring many others.
“So far, we have been able to recover four bodies and we have taken them to the mortuary while those who sustained injuries are at the hospital responsible for treatment,” Zibiri said.
The chairman added that a rescue operation was still ongoing at the scene as the trees were being sawn down in pieces to confirm if there were other bodies under them.
Zibiri described the incident as a tragedy and sympathised with families who lost their loved ones, appealing to residents of the local government area to stay indoors whenever it rained.