Collapsed Bridge: Tricycle Operator Escapes Death by a Whisker in Kano

The second part of the collapsed pedestrian bridge which killed seven people on Sunday in Kano State also gave way in the wee hours of yesterday and nearly killed a tricycle driver who was passing underneath the bridge.

The pedestrian bridge, which was under construction in the densely populated area of Dorayi Quarters along BUK Road in Kumbotso Local Government Area of the state, first collapsed on Sunday, but part of it continued to perch precariously until yesterday morning.

When THISDAY visited the scene of the incident, it was observed that the tricycle was broken into two and its driver injured.

Speaking to journalists, spokesman of the Police Command in Kano, Musa Magaji Majia, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) confirmed that the incident happened yesterday morning when the tricycle operator was attempting to meander his way off the rough road, but his effort turned tragic when the bridge suddenly collapsed on his tricycle.

Majia explained that the contractor handling the project had been invited by the police for questioning over the defects on the bridge which must have led to its collapse.

According to him, no death was recorded yesterday, while the only injury sustained was by the driver of the tricycle.

He said the police had commenced investigations into the remote and immediate causes leading to the collapse of the pedestrian bridge.

Majia added that the state’s traffic management agency – the Kano Road and Traffic Agency (KAROTA) – had been mandated to take charge of diverting traffic to other routes to avoid another tragic incident.