At least 10 people have drowned and more are missing after weekend flooding that destroyed a bridge and a residential area of the town of Jalingo in north-eastern Nigeria, a government official said on Monday.
”The damage to the bridge and buildings is very extensive,” Taraba state spokesperson Matthew Eliud Jen said by telephone from the scene.
”The River Jalingo bridge collapsed when the river overflowed its banks as a result of several hours of downpour. The state Governor, Jolly Nyame, is currently at the scene of the disaster to assess the damage,” he said.
”We are yet to ascertain the exact figure of casualties and those missing. But we have recovered at least 10 corpses so far,” he added.
Nigerian press reports said that as many as 50 people may have drowned. — Sapa-AFP