David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka
A middle-aged petty trader wednesday lost her life while drawing water from a well in her residence in Ogechukwu Street, Awka, the Anambra State capital.
The deceased who was said to be epileptic had gone into a fit, while drawing water from a well, throwing her into it, leaving her to drown.
She was a native of Ugbenu in Awka North Local Government Area of the state, simply identified as Ifenyinwa.
Some of the residents of the area, who described the incident as tragic, said she was attempting to draw the water from the well with a rope when the fit suddenly came over her throwing her into the well.
A resident, who gave her name as Justina, blamed the incident on her relatives and neighbours, saying they would not have allowed her to fetch the water herself as her health condition were very well known to people around.
“She might not have died that way if she had been assisted to fetch the water,†she lamented.
Another neighbour, who preferred anonymity, however, dismissed the former, saying the deceased had been fetching water from the well all through the years she had lived in the compound.
“That was not the first time she fetched water from the well. Even though she is epileptic, she had been engaged in some other tedious activities, including visiting village markets where she purchased the fruits she sold.
“I think she was just destined to die today. If not, she could have successfully fetched the water the way she had always done,†he said.
The corpse was said to have been rescued by an expert swimmer who jumped into the well with the assistance of a rope tied to a ladder.
When our correspondent visited the scene of the incident, residents of the area and other sympathisers, besieged the compound, expressing shock as well as consoling the family of the deceased.
