The Army Rescue Unit in Bamenda, working in close collaboration with the population, has recovered the remains of 25-year-old Agyingi Hamlet, who drowned on Monday, September 29, after being swept away by floodwaters in a nearby stream at the City Chemist neighbourhood.
According to senior warrant officer, Taku Paul Buifor, Chief of Centre of the Army Rescue Unit in Mulang, the search began early Tuesday morning, with two teams dispatched to comb different stretches of the stream.
“The first team searched from City Chemist to the Presbyterian Church Bridge, while the second team combed from there to the Army Rescue Bridge,” he explained.
After nearly an hour of fruitless searching, a breakthrough came from the population. Residents of Street IV Mulang spotted the body roughly 15 kilometres downstream from where Hamlet was carried away. The rescue team immediately suspended the initial search and rushed to the site, where they retrieved and carefully prepared the remains before transferring them to the mortuary.
“We want to thank the population of Bamenda, especially those of Street IV Mulang, who played a crucial role in this operation,” Taku Paul said. “This is not the first time the population has accompanied us in such missions. They have always shown team spirit, and we are grateful.”
The recovery has once again drawn attention to the dangers posed by flooded streams and bridges in Bamenda. Just two weeks earlier, Taku Paul disclosed that two children, aged nine and ten, a boy and a girl respectively, drowned in the same waterway.
“Today we are here again removing another young man who lost his life under similar circumstances,” the rescue chief lamented. “We strongly advise the population to stay indoors whenever it rains heavily. Nobody should attempt to cross a bridge or passage covered by floodwaters. That is exactly what happened to this young man.”
Eyewitnesses said Hamlet had attempted to bypass the flooded City Chemist bridge by balancing on a large water pipe, but was overpowered by the raging current. His tragic death, the rescue unit warns, should serve as a stark reminder to residents about the risks of crossing flooded areas. It should be recalled that he was swept alongside another individual but he managed to escape from the water current.
Beyond appealing for caution, the Army Rescue Unit urged parents and guardians to remain vigilant, especially with children, to ensure they do not play near streams or bridges during the rainy season.
As Bamenda continues to grapple with recurrent flooding, the solidarity shown between the Army Rescue Unit and the local population in this operation has been praised as a sign of community resilience in the face of repeated tragedy.
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