19 wedding guests die after Zamfara’s neglected bridge collapsed
At least 19 persons lost their lives in a road accident following the collapse of a ramshackle Gwalli bridge at Fass community in Gumi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The tragic incident occurred on Saturday evening at about 4.45 pm when a vehicle conveying wedding guests plunged from the weakened bridge into the water beneath, killing men, women, and children.
A resident, Babangida Halifa Ibrahim Fass, who lost relatives in the accident, said the tragedy struck while his newlywed sister was being taken to her husband’s home in Jega community.
“The car fell from the bridge into the water. As they were brought out, we found 19 of them dead, including men, women, and children,” he told SolaceBase.
The father of the bride was said to be late Sheikh Dauda Fass, a former member of the State House of Assembly.
SolaceBase gathered that the deceased would be buried tomorrow morning.
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The bridge, which links several communities including Gwalli, Yar Gusau, and Fass, had been in disrepair for years.
It was initially rehabilitated during the administration of former Governor Abdulaziz Yari, but was eroded by heavy rainfall about seven years ago, leaving residents to struggle with unsafe passage.
Earlier this year, villagers, through communal efforts, tried to patch the damaged section with sand-filling, but the structure eventually gave way, resulting in Saturday’s tragedy.
Babangida blamed years of government neglect for the deplorable state of the bridge. “Since then, we have been suffering.
Sometimes people pass through the water to go to the graveyard and bury someone. We even filled bags of rice and cement with sand to construct a local bridge,” he lamented.
Also residents who spoke to SolaceBase decried the lingering hardship the dilapidated bridge has caused, particularly during the rainy season.
Some expressed fear of being swept away by floodwaters while attempting to cross.
They described the incident as yet another addition to the “frightening lives” people in Zamfara have endured, challenging government claims of addressing critical infrastructure in rural communities.
When contacted, Governor Dauda Lawal’s spokesperson, Mustapha Jafaru Kaura, initially said he was unaware of both the community and the incident but promised to reach out to the relevant authorities.
However, subsequent attempts to reach him for further comment were unsuccessful as he did not answer calls.
Residents have called on both federal and state governments to take urgent action to reconstruct the bridge and prevent further loss of lives, warning against what they described as “false promises.”
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