Vulcaniser drowns while trying to rescue customer’s tyre in Calabar

A vulcaniser who repairs vehicle tyres at Habour/EPZ in Calabar, Cross River State, has drowned while trying to rescue a customer’s tyre.

CONVERSEER gathered that the incident happened at Harbour by EPZ, close to NPA, on Thursday following the downpour that greeted the city that day.

According to an eyewitness who spoke under anonymity, the vulcaniser, whose real name is yet to be ascertained, was repairing a Toyota Tundra tyre when the rain started.

“While the vulcaniser, as we call him, was trying to fix the tyre, though he drank kaikai (dry gin), the Tundra tyre rolled into the big gutter (drainage) that leads to the Calabar river.

“At first, he wanted to jump into the gutter, but he was held back by people around as the water pressure was too much – since it was raining.

“He said the tyre is very expensive and he can not afford to buy it for the owner, so he has to rescue the tyre.

“Before we could know it, he jumped into the gutter with the flowing water and at the verge of trying to remove the heavy tyre, the water carried him down the drain.

“We were thinking he was going to get trapped by NPA because they put some rods there to trap dirt and other debris, but he was squeezed into the canal, and from there, we knew there was nothing anyone could do,” the source added.

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The eyewitness, who also works at Harbour, said further, “He (vulcaniser) was later seen today (Friday) at the edge of the river, and fortunately, the tide from the ocean was down, so he wasn’t washed into the river and then into the ocean.

“He was found by sand scavengers around 12 in the afternoon. He has wounds all over his body – probably as he was struggling and the rods by the NPA side.”