BY DAUD OLATUNJI, ABEOKUTA

FOUR persons, including a mother and her two children, were crushed  by a large rock after it rammed into a room and parlour apartment at Oke-Ola Street, Ibere-kodo, Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.

Sunday Vanguard gathered that the woman’s  grandchild was also killed during the incident which occurred Friday night. Meanwhile, the father, Ismail Lawal,  and a  daughter, Rafia, also reportedly in the building, survived.

According to  eye witnesses, the mother, identified as Silifat Lawal, her two children, Rasheedat, 15, Semia ,4,  and a grandchild, Sukurat, had their dinner and went to bed.

It was gathered that at about 9pm, a huge rock, some distance to the building, tumbled off its base as a result of soft ground occasioned by a  downpour and headed for the room of the Lawals  and crushed them. One of the neighbours, Khadijat  Adegoke, said the sound of the impact was overwhelming the heavy rain that fell that night also wreaked  havoc on property around the area. Adegoke  explained that neighbours got to know about the incident when the husband of the deceased woman, Ismail, rushed out and shouted for help.

According to her, neighbours rushed to the scene but could do nothing as the victims had been crushed. When our correspondent  visited the scene, yesterday morning, sympathisers were everywhere.

Men were seen  digging four graves for the deceased. Lawal and his surviving daughter Rafia were taken to a  nearly house for close observation. The father, a driver  described as an easy going person, was too distraught to speak to our correspondent