Umar Sale, a 28-year-old man, has been confirmed dead after being accidentally buried alive while he was digging sand in a ditch in Taura Local Government Area of Jigawa State.
The unfortunate incident happened in Majia town when the deceased was digging out sand with the sole intention to fix his mud house that had been partly destroyed by the heavy seasonal downpour in the state.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps -NSCDC, Jigawa command spokesman, Mr. Adamu Shehu, confirmed the incident via a statement on Wednesday.
Shehu had said: “The father of three was digging sand from a ditch located about a kilometer away from Majia town to repair his mud house that had been partly destroyed by the heavy downpour recently recorded when the sand above him slid and buried him alive. His initial cry for help had been heard by some people farming around the area and they had rushed to his rescue.
“However, Umar had died at the spot because of the sand weight and the suffocation. His body was recovered and soon after released to his family for proper burial”.
Meanwhile, investigation has revealed that the incident is not the first one to occur in the same ditch, as there have been recorded cases of similar death, as such, the community is already advised in their best interest to desist from extracting or digging sand from that particular ditch, according to Shehu.
