Heavy traffic has built up
in Enugu State following the collapse of the 50-year-old Abakpa-Nike
Bridge during an intense rainfall on Wednesday night.
Although no life was lost
in the disaster, our correspondent observed that the heavy traffic in
Abakpa-Nike, Emene and Trans-Ekulu areas on Thursday made many residents
to trek to their places of work.
Commercial motorcyclists had a field day as those who could not trek resorted to taking motorcycle.
A taxi driver, Mr. Solomon Agu, said the bridge shook violently for about two minutes before it collapsed.
He said, “I was taking a
passenger home that night when the bridge started shaking. I applied
brake immediately, but even at that, the car kept bouncing while the
earth shook. This whole thing happened within two minutes and I was just
approaching the tip of the bridge.
“When the tremor stopped, I
turned on my headlamp to continue the journey, but to my surprise, the
soil before me had sunk into the earth and the bridge also collapsed.
“Immediately, I alerted
oncoming motorists, most of them on top speed despite the rain, and we
made a swift reverse. This caused traffic snarls that night, which
lasted in Abakpa-Nike and Trans-Ekulu till about midnight.”
A resident in Abakpa, Miss
Chinaza Ulelu, said, “This noise that erupted before the bridge
collapsed was really frightening and most of us fled our homes not
minding the heavy rain.”
“We had to flee thinking it
was another plane crash because the place is close to the airport.
Although the airport has not been functioning for some time now, we
didn’t want to take chances.”
Source- Punch
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