Heavy rains accompanied by massive wind and thunderstorms on Thursday evening destroyed properties worth millions of naira in Yenagoa the Bayelsa State capital.
One of the affected public structures was the popular Oxbow Lake Pavillion located around the Swali area of Yenagoa.
The roof of the massive edifice was blown away by the wind and exposed the sprawling edifice to ridicule.
An eyewitness who simply gave his name as Perekeme, in an interview with our correspondent gave an account of the incident.
“I came here to eat native soup as I always do, when the incident happened. The wind came and blew away the pavilion roof, the glasses of the building broke and everyone started running”.
He also narrated the ordeal of some persons who were present at the time of the incident.
“A boy at the pavilion was thrown by the wind under a car but was rescued by some other people here from entering the lake. A lot of people got injured, sharp objects fell on the heads of some while others sustained injuries from nails and other sharp objects.
“Thank God the thing didn’t happen more than this. The place we were, was secured, maybe because of the way the structure there was built. Everything around us got destroyed”.
Another eye witness, Prince Yakede, a bar attendant, also gave details of the incident.
She said: “We were here as usual when the rain started to fall. Suddenly, the roof of the pavilion and other properties around were razed by the wind”.
She attributed the incident as more spiritual than physical, pointing out to the sudden appearance of a boat in the middle of the lake, adding that she is also grateful to God that no life was lost.
“The boat wasn’t here before, suddenly, we saw a boat floating in the middle of the lake. Everything around Oxbow lake including the pavilion roof started getting blown off by the storm but I just want to thank God it’s not more than this.” she said.
Oxbow lake Pavillion is one of the choice places in the state capital for relaxation and it was built and commissioned by the immediate past administration of Senator Seriake Dickson in 2018.
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