Man risks his life to save teenage girl from flooded ditch, gets swept away with her instead

The incident happened on Faulks Road during heavy rainfall, and both remained missing as search efforts continued.

Police and fire service officials joined residents searching the drainage channels, amid fears the pair may have been carried into the Aba River.

A man who jumped into a flooded ditch to save a teenage girl in Aba, Abia State, was swept away with her by the rushing water, and their families are now waiting for news.

The incident happened on Sunday evening, October 25, 2026, at Ukwu Mango on Faulks Road during a heavy downpour.

Police said the girl was passing near an ongoing construction site when she reportedly hit a stone and fell into an uncovered ditch that had filled with rainwater. A man who saw her fall went into the water to rescue her, but the surging water carried both of them away.

On Monday, the Abia State Fire Service and other government officials joined residents in combing the drainage channels for the missing pair.

The Abia State Police Public Relations Officer, Maureen Chinaka, confirmed the incident, saying, “Unfortunately, we have not been able to see them.” She added that the police were aware, that the matter had been reported and that efforts were on to see how they could be rescued.

Neither the man nor the girl had been publicly identified at the time of the reports. Reports claim the families of both were waiting for any word on their fate.

Faulks Road, which leads to Ukwu Mango and the Ariaria market area, has been the site of road and drainage construction for years. Reports have often described gutter construction on the stretch from Faulks to Ukwu Mango that was snarling traffic for residents and motorists.

Aba’s flat terrain has long caused flooding, according to an environmental assessment for the Abia State Integrated Infrastructural Development Project. The document lists Faulks Road among the Aba roads proposed for rehabilitation.

The police did not say which project the construction site near the ditch belongs to, or who was responsible for it. No update on the search was available at the time of filing.