A terrifying situation in Okpanam, Delta State, nearly turned fatal on Friday after a massive downpour triggered severe flash floods.
Fortunately, a group of quick-thinking bystanders refused to just watch it happen.
Videos of the dramatic rescue have been blowing up on X (formerly Twitter) after being posted by user ChuksEricE.
The footage captures a chaotic, high-stress scene in the pouring rain. A group of about five men, completely drenched, can be seen fighting against the raging current to pull an unidentified man out of a deep drainage ditch where he was trapped and submerged.
The panic in the air was palpable. In the background of the video, neighbours and onlookers can be heard screaming out instructions and praying desperately.
“God save him o! God have mercy! What is holding him inside the water?” one woman cried out.
Another eyewitness described just how close the man came to drowning: “From that side, I was seeing only his head! The water was carrying him away!”
Thankfully, the collective effort paid off. A follow-up video shows the aftermath of the rescue. The victim, visibly exhausted and shaken up, was filmed sitting on the asphalt as his rescuers checked on him and tried to help him catch his breath.
Looking at how fast and deep the floodwaters were, one resident watching from her balcony spoke for everyone when she called his survival a straight-up miracle. “God is merciful,” she said. “The water carried him from the end of the road all the way until he got here.”
It was an incredibly close call, but thanks to a few regular citizens stepping up when it mattered most, a tragedy was avoided.
See the video here.
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