A heavy advertising billboard at the popular Aba Salad Market junction fell on Wednesday, killing one person and leaving eight other hospitalized with various degrees of injuries.
EkweAnaedo gathered that the deceased, the billboard when he was taking shelter inside a parked tricycle during the rain, killed instantly Mr Destiny Uguru, an indigene of Izzi, Ebonyi State whose wife is heavily pregnant,.
An eyewitness, and a relation to the deceased, Mr Chinedu Nwaibo, who works as a vulcanizer at the location, told New Telegraph that the tragedy occurred during a downpour that came with a heavy wind.
“When the rain that came with wind was blowing on Wednesday, he and his brothers (community men) had to take refuge in his small shanty shop, not knowing that a tragedy is closer to them.
“I went into my small shanty with my brothers when the rain started. We were seven inside the shop when the heavy wind and rain got stronger.
“They complained my shanty wasn’t a comfortable place for them to take refuge, that they prefer staying inside their tricycles near the fallen billboard.
“I refused to go into the tricycles with them. It wasn’t up to a long time, the billboard fell and injured seven people and killed one person.”
Speaking about the deceased, Nwaibo said, “the deceased was my brother and I’ve deposited his corpse in a mortuary. He’s from Izzi, Ebonyi State,” he said.
Nwaibo further pleaded with the Abia State government to come to the help of his kinsmen, who were only out in the streets, struggling to make ends meet.
“I beg the government to please come and help us. Let them help my brothers, who are victims of this tragedy. They were only out here to make ends meet.
“They never knew that such a tragedy awaits them. The dead guy, Destiny Uguru, has two children and his wife is heavily pregnant and he was a young man of just 27 years old.”
Speaking from the angle of government, Mrs Victoria Onwubiko, MD/CEO Abia State Structures for Signage and Advertising Agency (ABSSA) said that the incident brought a sad experience.
After moving around the ward where the victims were admitted as the Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), Onwubiko said that the Abia State government will take care of every bill of the victims.
She stressed she has seen the victims, and they were recuperating as the doctors were doing everything possible to keep them stable.
“The governor has given an order for everything to be done without looking back. There will not be any other death because, from what we’re seeing, they’re all recovering well.
“They’re about eight. Five are currently at the ABSUTH, while about three have been discharged.”
Speaking on the deceased, Mrs Onwubiko said the government has contacted the family of the deceased and is currently talking to them.
Speaking on the quality of the billboard, she said, “The board was erected about five years ago, and apparently, it was not well-done. That’s why it fell.
“Going forward, strict methods are applied for all boards of such heights. No matter how low it is, it can still hurt people.
“Everything is being done to ensure that things are done properly. So, we will make sure that we’ll do more than we’re doing now.
“Apparently, nobody that was technically sound in construction of such was there when they erected that billboard or else, it wouldn’t have happened.
“What we’re currently doing is that any site that must come up, all our technical people must be there to evaluate things before it’ll be allowed to stand. So, the government is doing all it can to ensure the right thing is done.”
On further measures to stop reoccurrence of such incident, Onwubiko said that, “Structural inspection of every site will start henceforth. All those that have such billboards must submit the technical drawing used for the construction.
“If we don’t see such, then that site must come down. Besides that, we do an inspection of all the sites in the state to make sure that they’re sound no matter the height. Anyone that’s not sound will come down.”
Echezona Okafor.
