By Our Reporter
Providence may just have been the only thing that prevented a huge fire disaster yesterday after a truck belonging to Oando Plc, fully loaded with Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, otherwise known as petrol crashed into a shoe shop at No. 31 Target Street, Calabar.
The incident which happened around 7pm according to eye witnesses was caused by failed breaks. The truck was said to have initially ran into an Army Hilux van and destroyed part of the vehicle with the soldier who was driving the Hilux now receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital.
A CrossRiverWatch reporter who witnessed the accident rushed to fire service and was told by an aged man that was sleeping on duty that its only Governor’s Office truck that can respond to such emergency.
But around 1 a.m same night, a truck and fire men from the Governor’s office came to the scene and made efforts to pump some water and chemicals into the surrounding drainages which were already saturated with the petrol that had drained into the gutters, while people were also busy scooping fuel from the tanker.
Our reporter says even the soldiers who came to discharge their damaged truck, “the soldiers also came with jerry cans and joined in scooping the fuel into several of the gallons before taking them away.”
However, the police have since arrived the venue and evacuated the truck amidst resistance from residents of the area and the owners of the shops destroyed by the truck who had insisted that Oando had not come to negotiate with them.
As at the time of filing this report, the whereabouts of the driver of the truck was unclear.
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