By Deborah Nnamdi
A tragic accident occurred early Thursday morning on the Onitsha–Owerri Road in Anambra State, when an articulated vehicle carrying a container toppled and crushed three tricycles, killing at least three people on the spot and trapping several others.
The incident happened around 7:30 a.m. near the Mgbemena Junction, at the height of the morning rush hour, when many traders were heading to the markets. Witnesses said the container fell off the truck as it attempted to manoeuvre through the bad portion of the road.
As of the time of filing this report, rescue operations had yet to begin. Angry residents and tricycle operators gathered at the scene, setting bonfires and chanting anti-government songs to protest the poor state of the road and the delay in rescuing the trapped victims.
Eyewitnesses said the accident was caused by the deplorable condition of the dual carriageway, which has forced motorists to use only one lane for months.
One tricycle operator, who identified himself as Ebuka, said he was driving behind the trailer when the crash occurred.
“People now drive on one side of the road because the other side is completely impassable,” he said. “As the trailer tried to cross back to the other lane, the container shifted and fell on three tricycles beside it. Before anyone could raise an alarm, it crushed them.”
Ebuka added that one of the victims was a former manager of Aris Filling Station who had recently taken up tricycle work along the route.
“We’ve been crying on radio stations every day, begging the government to fix this road, but nobody listened,” he lamented. “Now people have died because of negligence.”
Following the crash, tricycle operators suspended their services in protest, blocking the road and demanding urgent rescue of those trapped.
Another eyewitness, Chinedu, blamed the state government for ignoring repeated public complaints about the Onitsha–Owerri Road.
“For over five months, residents have been calling into radio programmes, appealing for the road to be repaired,” he said. “Now lives have been lost because the government refused to act. It’s only now, after this tragedy, that they’ll come pretending to care.”
Tension heightened when the wife and relatives of one of the deceased arrived at the scene, wailing uncontrollably.
Officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), police officers from Okpoko Division, and a towing truck later arrived to begin efforts to remove the container and rescue those still trapped.
The Onitsha–Owerri Road, particularly the stretch between Upper Iweka and the Metallurgical Training Institute (MTI), has remained in deplorable condition for months, with residents repeatedly calling on the Anambra State Government to rehabilitate it.
