A yet-to-be-identified young lady was said to have jumped into the Osun river around the Gbodofon area of the state capital, Osogbo on Thursday.
It was gathered that the lady was walking on the Gbodofon bridge and after receiving a phone call, she dropped her wallet and jumped into the river.
Passersby who saw her jump into the river quickly alerted the state fire service and the agency’s operatives got to the scene around 4:15 pm.
Eyewitnesses said the victim was aged between 18 and 21, adding that she dropped her phone inside her purse on the river bank before jumping into the river.
A passer-by who saw the lady approaching the bridge had raised the alarm immediately she jumped into it and made efforts to rescue her but to no avail.
Some of the rescuers had phoned the state fire fighters in Osogbo who visited the river with their operational vehicles after some minutes. After minutes of searching, they could not find the victim.
A passer-by who witnessed the rescue efforts said, “I was walking along Gbodofon area around 4:15pm and I saw crowd on the bridge while some fire fighters were at the river bank. I was told that a young lady that is aged between 18 and 21, jumped into the Osun river after receiving phone call.
“I gathered that she suddenly asked the Okada man conveying her to stop immediately she got to the bridge, alighted and dived into the river. I saw her purse and two phones on the floor after they were removed form the purse she dropped.
“All efforts to rescue or get the lady was not possible. The fire fighters later left the scene. The water is much because of the rain and that also made it more difficult for her to be found. No one could enter the river because of its intensity.
“Some are saying she might have vanished immediately she jumped into the river because this isn’t the first time this will happen. Last year, an Okada rider jumped into the river after making phone call. He also vanished inside the river,” the source said.
Another witness, Grace Aworanti, said the lady dropped from a motorcycle heading toward Fakunle before jumping into the river.
“She was receiving call when she dropped from the motorcycle and jumped into the river, the current moved her to the other side. We were seeing her head but no one can jump into the river because of the water level.
“Unfortunately before operatives of the fire service arrived she disappeared and they could not jump in as well”, she added
According to information gathered, effort to get a reaction from state fire service officials proved abortive as the number of the Administrative Officer Ibrahim Adekunle could not be reached.