No fewer than three persons lost their lives while goods and property worth millions of naira were destroyed in Enugu on Wednesday evening as a tanker loaded with kerosene lost control and rammed into shops at the Ninth Mile Corner, in the Udi Local Government Area of the state.
Affected in the incident were a chemist shop, Neighbourhood Security Office, restaurants and building materials outlets.
The Guardian gathered that the vehicle belonging to Bemac Investment was coming from Nsude and descending the hill at the Ninth Mile Roundabout when it developed brake failure and rammed into the shops.
While three vehicles parked along the axis were shattered, a young child, a motorcycle rider and a young lady were instantly killed as the product being conveyed by the tanker spilled.
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When The Guardian visited the scene yesterday, some of the affected traders and sympathisers were trying to salvage what was left from the wreckage.
It was gathered that while the bodies of the motorcycle rider and the young child were discovered immediately after the incident and taken to the hospital morgue in the area, the body of the young lady was discovered yesterday morning in a gutter.
One of the affected traders, who deals in building materials, Ugochukwu Okoro, stated that the incident occurred about 6.45 p.m. on Wednesday.
Okoro, who was seen recovering mattresses, cotton and other household items that had been soaked in kerosene, said he was yet to overcome the shock.
“I was here with some customers who wanted to buy a mattress when suddenly, we started hearing people shouting. I quickly ran out of my shop with the two customers. The next thing I heard was a big bang. We had thought it was fuel until we confirmed it was kerosene and ran back to see what could be salvaged,” he said.
Okoro, who was grateful to God that it did not go beyond the destruction of his wares, stated that about five minutes before the incident, all the members of his family were in the shop.
“My brother who took them to the bus stop where they boarded a car to the house had not returned to the shop after the incident. Imagine what could have happened if those children were still here and playing around,” he said.
A pastor, Chris Onoh, stated that the incident was the second since 2019. Onoh, who is the landlord of the property being used as shops, stated that he spent over three million naira renovating the shops when a similar incident occurred in 2019.
“In this one, I am not going to spend anything less than N4 million following the level of damage here. You can see that part of the building was completely brought down. I decided to build an iron barricade to protect here, but you can see that it has been pulled down,” he said.
Onoh said the incessant brake failures of trucks were due to the sloping nature of the roundabout.
“This hill is very sloppy and these vehicles will always fail. I think the government should direct these vehicles to begin to use the by-pass road to avoid a repeat. They should also barricade the road to save lives here. These traders who are now crying will need money to rebuild and get back to businesses,” he added.
Enugu Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Joseph Udoabba, confirmed the incident. He stated that three persons died and that the youngest of them was a little girl.
Scene of the crash at 9th mile, Enugu
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