A-yet-to-be identified commercial noodle joint owner was reportedly killed in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State as a giant commercial billboard at the busy Osisioma junction fell and crushed him to death.
Investigation has it that the billboard fell during a whirlwind that accompanied a torrential rainfall that lasted for about 3hrs on Wednesday as residents began to observe the total shutdown order of Abia State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu.
Our reporter gathered that another man in his late twenties, said to be a close relation to the deceased who was trapped under the heavy iron is still battling for survival in an undisclosed hospital at the time of this report.
The deceased was said to have been buried in Aba by the Hausa community in accordance with Islamic rites.
Eyewitnesses told our reporter that the survivor sustained life-threatening bodily injury through the impact of the pipe of the billboard that rested upon him.
According to the eyewitnesses, the two persons that were trapped under the heavy pile were brought out through the efforts of a construction company’s workers working on the Osisioma inter-change bridge who used one of their heavy-duty equipment to lift the pipe that rested on the duo.
They said that while one was brought out dead as he faced the ground which could not allow him breath, the other person escaped death by the whiskers as the rescue team was able to lift the heavy pipe after which he was rushed to the hospital.
One of the sources who gave his name as Onyema said that about ten other customers to the deceased and his neighbours including a commercial tricycle owner, also narrowly escaped death.
Mr. Emmanuel Nwangbo from Ebonyi State, whose commercial tricycle was damaged in the incident while narrating what happened, said that he parked at the junction because of the heavy rain and the whirlwind that accompanied it.
Nwangbo who couldn’t hold his tears while thanking God for saving his life, said that the only regret is his means of income that was damaged beyond repairs.
“I have only N400, 000 left to complete the higher purchase of this Keke. Now that this thing has happened, I don’t what to say again. I don’t know what the person that gave me this keke is going to do.
