Mysterious Fire Razed Vehicle at Ekwuluobia Park

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.