40ft Container Crushes Woman to Death in Anambra

It was learnt that more casualties were averted as traders who noticed the moving truck quickly fled the scene.

A 40ft container which fell from a rolling trailer at the busy Eze-Iweka area near Upper Iweka Bus Stop, along the Onitsha-Owerri Road has crushed an unidentified woman to death.

Reporters gathered that the tragic incident happened on Thursday evening when the truck parked by the roadside while goods were being offloaded, suddenly started moving.

The driver was not in the vehicle at the time.

It was gathered that while the truck was moving, the 40ft container it was carrying fell and crushed the victim who was by the roadside to death.

It was learnt that more casualties were averted as traders who noticed the moving truck quickly fled the scene.

As of Friday morning, the dead victim was still trapped under the container as rescue efforts were still ongoing to lift the container and remove her body.

The acting Sector Public Education Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Margaret Onabe, who confirmed the incident, said it happened at about 3pm.

Onabe attributed the cause of the crash to brake failure, adding that the police were making efforts to get a crane to lift the 40ft container.

She said, "An unidentified driver of a commercial Mark trailer at about 15:08hrs on Thursday, was involved in a road traffic crash. The probable cause of the fatal crash was brake failure.

"According to eyewitnesses, the truck was packed, while goods were being offloaded and all of a sudden, it rolled off without a driver inside and hit one person.

"One female adult was involved. She was killed by the 40ft container the trailer was carrying.

"The FRSC rescue team from RS5.3A1 Upper-Iweka Outpost, Anambra state rushed to the accident scene along with the Awada police team making efforts to get a crane to lift the 40ft container where the road traffic crash victim was trapped.

"And efforts are still in place to get the driver of the truck amidst the Awada police division who are also investigating for necessary actions."

She added that the Sector Commander in the state, Corps Commander Adeoye Irelewuyi, sympathised with the family of the dead victim.

"The sector commander seriously warned motorists to desist from disobeying traffic rules and regulations, emphasising that regular maintenance of vehicles to minimum safety standards to avert this kind of crash that occurred. Drive to save your life and the lives of others on the road," she said.