Devastation and grief as four brothers and sisters perish in Cross River landslide tragedy

Tragedy unfolded in Ikot Awatin community, Calabar municipality, Cross River State, as a landslide triggered by torrential rain claimed the lives of four siblings over the weekend.

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The incident occurred just three days after a one-year-old child lost their life to floodwaters and property worth millions of naira was destroyed along Mayne Avenue by Atu Street in Calabar South Local Government Area.

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The deceased siblings, identified as Bright Kingsley Edu, 18; Godswill Kingsley Edu, 12; Daniel Kingsley Edu, 11; and Richard Kingsley Edu, 10, were the children of Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley Edu, and were buried alive alongside a tanker driver, Mr. Udo, attached to a fuel depot.

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Community youths, who worked through the night with bare hands and shovels to dig through the rubble, recovered all five victims, but unfortunately, they were all found dead.

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Mrs. Mercy Kingsley Edu, also known as Mama Uwana, had taken her children to church for evening service on the fateful Friday, and they left ahead of her to beat the storm home, while their father was away on official duty.

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According to Mrs. Edu, the children returned home, changed into dry clothes, and lay down to rest, unaware that the saturated earth above their home was giving way, and moments later, the landslide struck, burying the house and trapping them beneath the debris.

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Mrs. Edu, a waterleaf farmer who lost her children and everything she owned, was overcome with grief, lamenting that "everything was buried in the landslide, taking my children and leaving us hopeless and homeless".

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She wailed, "Why me?", and expressed her sorrow, saying "Four out of seven are gone in one day, my husband never buys anything for himself because he wants his children to go to school, three boys and a girl, all gone".

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Her husband, Mr. Kingsley Edu, stood at the scene, speechless, as sympathisers and neighbours gathered around the couple to offer comfort.

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The four children were buried shortly after their bodies were recovered, while the remains of Mr. Udo were deposited in a morgue, leaving his family to grapple with the sudden loss of a breadwinner.

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Residents and sympathisers who visited the scene were shocked by the scale of the devastation, and called on the Cross River State Government and well-meaning Nigerians to aid the Edu family, who lost four children and their home in a single night.

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The Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (CR-SEMA), led by its Director-General, Mr. Efa Nyong, conducted a three-hour on-the-spot assessment of the site on Saturday, alongside the Disaster Management Unit of the Nigerian Red Cross Society.

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The team, which included the Red Cross's Disaster Management Officer, Mr. Agbor Okim, and CR-SEMA's Head of Relief and Rehabilitation, Mrs. Preye Obo, walked through the wreckage, spoke with grieving family members, and documented the extent of the destruction.

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Mr. Nyong described the loss of the children as heartbreaking, and conveyed the state government's sympathy to the bereaved families, assuring residents that the government would work with stakeholders to provide support.

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He explained that the assessment was designed to guide the government's response, from immediate humanitarian intervention to longer-term measures aimed at reducing the risk of future disasters.

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Mr. Nyong urged residents in landslide and erosion-prone communities to remain vigilant, and to promptly report signs of soil movement or land cracks, and to cooperate with authorities when evacuation becomes necessary.

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Speaking on behalf of the affected families, Mr. Bassey Patrick thanked the assessment team for responding promptly, and called for more emergency assistance for survivors who had lost loved ones and were struggling to cope with the aftermath of the disaster.