There is palpable tension in Bauchi State as students of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi have been reportedly killed following the collapse of a bridge linking the University, Monday night.
The incident was as a result of a heavy downpour in the state which lasted for several hours.
The exact number of casualties is sketchy as some sources within the school say two students were washed off while some say three and some even put the number at four with several others still missing.
A source said: “I learnt that eight students have been killed, many others are missing. One corpse was found around the Nigerian Air force Base (over 5 kilometres away), many are still missing.”
According to another source within the Institution, “the bridge linking the classes with the hostels collapsed as a result of yesterday’s (Monday) torrential rain while students were returning to the hostels”.
A student of the University posted on his facebook account that, “We learnt that there was a sudden disaster which happened at ATBU, Gubi Campus, which affected many of our students, and there might be loss of lives. Please let’s pray for them, and anyone with relatives, brothers, sisters should make an enquiry about his or her well-being”.
Another student who pleaded anonymity said the incident happened between 11.30pm and 12 am.
It was reported that students of the Institution are currently writing their 1st Semester examination.
When contacted on the phone by our Correspondent, the Institution’s Spokesman, Dr Andee Iheme, told our Correspondent: “An emergency Senate Meeting has been called this morning and we will hold a Press Conference immediately after that.”
Source: The Punch
