Tragedy occurred on Saturday at the Eleme axis of the East-West Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as a utility truck crushed four persons to death.
An eyewitness said the four persons were occupants of a commercial tricycle that were heading to different destinations.
It was learnt that the truck, loaded with goods, fell on the tricycle, giving none of the occupants a chance for survival.
The eyewitness explained that the driver of the truck lost control and couldn’t manoeuvre the narrow road before falling on the tricycle.
It was also gathered that the occupants of the tricycle could not be recognised as their mangled bodies were said to have been pulled out of the compressed tricycle by sympathisers.
The incident, according to sources, occurred at about 2.45pm and created a traffic jam on the East-West Road.
“It was indeed a very pathetic sight to behold when the incident happened. The victims were riding in a tricycle popularly called Keke NAPEP when the truck loaded with consignments suddenly lost control and fell on the tricycle.
“The truck crushed the four occupants of the tricycle beyond recognition. Sympathisers were the ones who pulled the victims out of the wreckage,” the eyewitness stated.
The eyewitness also attributed the accident to the deplorable state of the road.
Heavy duty vehicles had fallen many times on the East-West Road because of its deplorable state.
However, the Rivers State Sector Commander of the Federal Road, Mr. Imoh Etuk, told a national newspaper correspondent that only three persons died in the accident.
“Only three people died not four,” he stated.