A tragic incident occurred on Monday night along the Eleme axis of the East-West Road when a Toyota Hilux van, carrying an expatriate and other workers, veered off the Eleme Bridge and plunged into the Okulu River while fleeing suspected kidnappers.
Eyewitnesses reported that the driver lost control of the vehicle during the escape, causing it to skid off the bridge and submerge in the river. As of Tuesday morning, neither the vehicle nor its occupants had been recovered despite efforts by local divers and rescue teams.
The Chairman of Eleme Local Government Area, Brain Gokpa, led a rescue mission to the scene and enlisted the support of the navy and other emergency agencies to retrieve the submerged van. “As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, no trace of the car or the victims had been found,” a local source disclosed.
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Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, visited the scene and commended Gokpa’s swift intervention. The chairman vowed to strengthen local rescue efforts and pursue those responsible for the attack.
The tragedy has drawn attention to the vulnerability of bridges in the area, which have become hazardous due to the removal of protective railings by vandals. Locals also raised concerns about frequent attempts by armed criminals to kidnap travelers on the bridge, using the river as an escape route.
Efforts to locate the vehicle and its occupants are ongoing, as the community calls for heightened security measures to prevent further incidents.
