No fewer than four officials of World Bank have drowned at a dam in Gbonyin local government area of Ekitit State.
The unfortunate incident precisely occurred at the Egbe Dam in Egbe Ekiti, which is the biggest of the six dams in Ekiti State.
Chairman of the council, Mrs Folasade Akinrinmola, who confirmed the incident to journalists on Thursday, said it occurred on Wednesday night and that the bodies of the drowned officials were later retrieved by the local fishermen.
She said the incident involved a team of seven contractors employed by the World Bank on an assessment mission to the dam.
According to her, the team commenced work on Tuesday night from a section of the dam, but tragedy struck when they moved to the other section on Wednesday.
She described the incident as sad and unfortunate and disclosed that the bodies of the dead had since been deposited at the mortuary in Ode-Ekiti, the headquarters of the council area.
“We immediately mobilised a rescue team and an ambulance, and in the process, those wearing life jackets were rescued.
“The rescued people were the ones who told us that others were in the water.
“The bodies of those that had drowned were later retrieved by the local fishermen.”
“One of the dead victims was said to be the son of the leader of the team who providentially escaped unhurt.
“We believe that they came to Ekiti based on some of the proposals we had written on the dam on how it can be put to use.
“We believe that the World Bank has started work on the dam based on their findings,” NAN reports.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Ekiti State Police Command, Mr Alberto Adeyemi, who also confirmed the incident, said “It is true that the boat transporting the team capsized, four of them died while three survived.”
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Adedapo Adesanya