Three people have been killed following heavy rain in Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

The victims – two women and a teenage boy – were said to be returning from a night vigil on Thursday morning before they got drowned in Amba River located along Kilema Road Lafia.

The three persons died as a result of an overflow of the river following the downpour which lasted hours.

Shortly after the incident, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa visited the area and promised to tackle the environmental challenges in the state.

He listed some of the steps to be taken by the government to include expansion of water channels, road construction, and river dredging, among others.

Governor Sule said, “The one thing that has to be done is increase the length of the area that will allow the water to pass, so we would extend the bridge so that we can have more water passing.

“Number two is to ensure that we dredge this particular area of the river to allow for more space, but the biggest problem we have which we will have to talk to our people is that most of the waste from Lafia taking over the places and causing this blockage.

The governor, however, warned residents to stop dumping waste on water channels while the government tries to minimise the impact flooding in the state.

“It is the blockage that is the cause of this problem. We have to find a way to avoid that.

“And for this one, we would find a solution, and then we would do the bigger work; that is why we introduced this monthly sanitation so that we can reduce such problems,” he stated.