Tragedy struck on
Saturday at approximately 4 pm when a commuter mini bus with Plate number XR
389 ENU flying the insignia of Aguata Local Government Mass Transit (ALGMT)
suddenly cut fire at the Aguata Local Government main Motor Park at Ekwulobia.
The bus which
eyewitness account alleges that had just driven into the Park with full load of passengers; no sooner had the
passengers disembarked, that the driver simply known as Cos decided to change a
spark plug while awaiting his turn.
No one can say exactly
what happened next, suddenly there was fire in the engine compartment of the
vehicle. Other drivers in the Park immediately rallied round the hapless driver
to help put out the fire with all kinds of fire fighting method they could lay
their hands on: fire extinguishers, buckets of water, water mixed with
detergents, etc.
The fire which at first
seems to abate, however took a turn for the worst and pandemonium ensued in the
Park as vehicle drivers who hitherto had been helping to put out the fire made
haste to remove their vehicles from the vicinity of the raging inferno, thereby
giving the fire free reins to do maximum damage to the vehicle.
Even the sky which had
hitherto been covered with dark rain clouds immediately let loose its contents
as if in answer to the cries of the women in the Park for the rain to come and
help put out the fire. Still with the torrential rainfall, the conflagration
still ravaged the vehicle.
A Special Marshall, Mr.
Okoye commenting on the event said that with the number of commercial vehicles
in the Park at the time of the fire, if ten percent of them had functioning
fire extinguishers, the fire could have been easily put out in its early
stages. Going further, he said most commercial vehicle drivers use “bicycle fire
extinguishers” instead of vehicle fire extinguishers. Despite the fine of N3000
imposed by FRSC for Fire Extinguisher violation, drivers still fail to observe
this regulation which was specifically put for their safety. If the drivers had
obeyed the regulation, the incident would not have resulted in colossal loss of
the vehicle and earnings for the driver.
Chidinma a fruit vendor
at the Park while commiserating with the driver added that it was divine
intervention that the incident occurred while the vehicle was stationary at the
Park; it would have been a completely different story if it happened on the
highways with full load of passengers. The vehicle was completely burnt
however, no one sustained any injuries.
