Residents of Urum Street in Awada, Onitsha, Anambra State have been thrown into mourning following the recovery yesterday of the bodies of two businessmen swept away by flood during a downpour on Monday evening.

The deceased, identified as Solomon from Achina,  Aguata Local Governmnet Area of the state and another whose identity could not be ascertained as at press time, were among five other persons who reportedly died in various locations within Onitsha after the rainfall witnessed at the close of business on Monday.

Solomon, a fashion dealer and importer, met his tragic end when he reportedly asked a friend to give him a free ride in his car, a Toyota Camry, since the rain did not subside while it was getting dark. The friend, already with his wife and three other occupants, hesitantly agreed to carry him until they fell into the deep gutter along Onitsha-Asaba Expressway while trying to negotiate the Ogboefere Junction in Okpoko axis.

While trying to escape from the impending doom, Solomon and another occupant of the vehicle were said to have opened the vehicle door but were overpowered by the heavy flood, which later swept them away.

Eyewitness account said the driver and two other occupants of the vehicle escaped by the whiskers as they were rescued by people within the area.

After several frantic searches by local divers hired to search the gutters and swim through the Nwangene stream and River Niger, two dead bodies were later discovered along the bank of the River Niger and a far distance to Odekpe  yesterday evening.

A resident of the area, Uchenna, told Daily Sun that the corpses were hurriedly taken home for burial as the recovered bodies were already in terrible shape. The residents called on government to compel various construction companies handling road projects in the state to  cover up water channels with slabs  to minimise several casualties occurring frequently in the area.