Lovers drown during romantic rendezvous by river in Delta

The bodies of two young lovers who drowned in Ekpan River,Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State were recovered.

Divers, who were contracted by the communities’ leadership, removed the decomposing bodies of the couple, identified simply Kess and Onoriode, from the river at 1 pm.They were buried beside each other at the spot from where they jumped into the river.

A youth leader, Pastor Leader Nimogha who is Kess’s uncle, told the Nation

 “It is very unfortunate that the two promising lovers ended this way. There is no doubt that the tragedy is as a result of youthful exuberance. They chose to express their love in a dangerous manner because they couldn’t swim.”

Nearly 1,000 grief-stricken residents converged on the New (Odogun) Layout and Ogbomwan suburbs in the morning yesterday.The young lovers met at their romantic rendezvous near the river on Wednesday.Kess was said to have entered the river first and persuaded Onoriode to join him.But they were said to have suddenly disappeared shortly after entering the river.

It was learnt that the young lovers took a stroll to the riverside in search of quietude and from the scorching sun.But there were conflicting accounts of how they drowned.

While a source said Kess was trying to teach his girlfriend how to swim, another claimed that they died after Onoriode fell into the water and Kess made a futile attempt to rescue her.