Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Tragedy was on Sunday averted in Port Harcourt, as a 33,000 litres petrol truck laden with product crashed into the Port Harcourt Spar Mall beside the Rivers State Government House, causing havoc.
The truck, SweetCrude Reports gathered was trying to navigate the Government House roundabout, when it lost control and crashed into the mall’s perimeter fence, passed through the fence, got across the parking lot and headed towards the Mall’s entrance before coming to a halt.
Witnesses say the truck was on a high-speed coming from Lagos Bus Stop axis and heading towards Mile One area, when the incident occurred.
An eyewitness, identified as Allwell, said no human casualty was recorded, apart from the damage to the Mall’s perimeter fence.
Allwell also disclosed that the content of the truck was immediately transferred into another truck to avert fire explosion, while the Police sealed off the broken fence with a tape.
He said, “The tanker was coming with a very high speed from Lagos area, when it crashed into Port Harcourt Spar Mall’s fence by Government House.
“Thankfully it did not kill anyone, but the petrol inside the tanker was immediately transferred into another tanker and taken away for safety.
“It is sad that a driver carrying petrol will be on such a high speed that he cannot negotiate a small roundabout like this one. I think the government should implement strict regulation for these heavy-duty truck drivers,” he said.
