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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
It was a black Sunday in Ohafia, Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State, as seven persons died in a ghastly motor accident on Sunday afternoon.
It was gathered that a taxi cab, with the inscription “Ochendo,” was carrying nine Christmas travellers from Umuahia to Ohafia when, near the Nmuri Bridge at Ebem Ohafia at about 1:30 pm, a trailer truck filled with chippings fell on the car, trapping its occupants, including a woman and two of her children.
Many of the trapped passengers reportedly cried out for help, but rescue efforts by passers-by were insufficient to save their lives, as it was difficult to lift the trailer off the car.
Speaking with newsmen after the incident, Chief Emeka Mba, President General of Ebem Ohafia Development Union (EODU), described the incident as devastating.
“Well, today should be regarded as a black Sunday because of the deaths on the bridge. As I speak, many people are still trapped under the truck.
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“I learned that one of the survivors is a lady with her two children sitting in front of the bus. But several others are still under the vehicle, and it’s a very helpless situation.”
Chief Mba decried the lack of emergency response equipment to move the heavy-duty truck. “We have tried everything. We could not get any equipment to lift the truck and rescue the people underneath. It’s a very ugly situation,” he explained.
He blamed the accident on the poor state of that portion of the road, which he said was a result of government negligence.
“That section of the road is very low and in very bad condition. We’ve done a lot to draw the government’s attention to it without success. There should be restrictions on heavy-duty trucks using the road until proper measures are put in place to address the poor condition of the road.”
The dead have been deposited in a morgue in the area.
