Tragedy has befallen the people of Umuocha Ohuba-Ubomiri in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State as a palm wine tapper simply identified as Njoku, was on Thursday found dead on top a palm tree.

A villager, Iheanyi Enwerem, told Southern City News that the deceased had left his house early in the morning for his daily palm wine tapping business.

The villager, who was visibly shocked by the development, disclosed that as of the time Njoku left his house, there was no sign that he wouldn’t return alive.

“He left his house very early in the morning for his daily palm wine tapping business. He was strong and never showed any sign that he would die.

“When he did not return on time, his family members started making enquiries about his whereabouts. A case of a missing person was established in the village; a search party was declared,” Enwerem said.

According to the source, it was in the course of the search that Njoku was found dead on top of a palm tree in a bush.

Enwerem, who said that the corpse of the palm wine tapper had been deposited in a morgue while the case had been reported at the police station, disclosed that there was no cut on the body to indicate that he was killed.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Andrew Enwerem, could not be reached for comment, but a police source confirmed the development.