CALABAR – A truck carrying refuse has fallen on a mechanic, killing him in the process in Calabar, Cross River State.
Converseer learned that the incident happened on Thursday evening at about 8 PM along Marian Road by Federal Pay Office.
According to sources, the mechanic was repairing the truck which broke down in the middle of the road when the jack failed. The truck was carrying a refuse bin filled with waste for disposal.
“A very sad evening along Marian by Federal Pay Office, as hydraulic jack failed, pressing the mechanic working under the spoiled refuse truck,” a source, Prince Nsa Ekpenyong, said.
The source stated further that the mechanic, whose name is yet to be ascertained at the time of this report, was confirmed dead at the hospital.
“When they brought the guy to the hospital, he was already gone,” he added.
Reacting to the incident, an engineer, Samuel Ekanem, explained that hydraulic jacks are meant to lift up vehicles and not necessarily the weights they carry.
“Africans, Nigerians, hydraulic jacks are designed for the weight of the vehicle, not the weight of the vehicle with extra dead load or life load. You empty the truck before you raise it, especially when you can’t tell the weight of the additional load the truck is carrying. No shortcut to safety,” he said.