No fewer than five workers were crushed to death at the Rivers Port Complex in Port Harcourt when a warehouse being used by Dangote Salt Company collapsed.
An eye witness account said the warehouse collapsed and buried the victims.
The incident happened penultimate Saturday when employees of Dangote salt were at the cloak room, close to toilets and bathrooms.
Our correspondent in Port Harcourt gathered that management of Dangote salt, terminal operator; PTOL and Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) also moved in immediately to salvage the situation.
They were assisted by Port Police, Fire Service and other security agencies also moved in to assist in rescue operations.
The General Manager, Eastern Ports of NPA; Mr. Joshua Asanga who visited the scene in company of the Port Manager immediately after the incident occurred directed the Port Monitoring and Compliance Team comprising Port Security, Fire Service, Port Police Command, Health Safety & Environment (HSE), Engineering, Commercial and Regulatory units to investigate the incident and give him a full report immediately.
The General Manager regretted that five lives were confirmed lost when the walls of the warehouse caved in. The dead were within the bathroom and toilet areas outside the warehouse when the incident occurred, the report stated.
However, in an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Port Harcourt, the General Manager, who spoke through Assistant General Manager (AGM), Corporate Affairs; Mr. Musa Ilya described the incident as unfortunate and consoled with the families of all those who died in the incident.
In a press statement issued by the AGM Corporate Affairs, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent in Port Harcourt, NPA ordered a full scale investigation into the incident of the “collapsed warehouse at area ‘A’, operated by Dangote Salt Company Ltd, within the Ports and Terminal Operator (PTOL), Rivers Ports Complex, Port Harcourt.”
In his reaction, Chairman, Dock Workers Union Rivers State Chapter; Comrade Tony Nwokocha, sympathized with the families of the victims. He blamed Dangote salt for not taking appropriate measures to save lives, even a as he acknowledged that the collapsed wall was old and dilapidated without repairs, having been built about 100 years ago.
Meanwhile, efforts made to speak to the management of Dangote salt and PTOL proved abortive as the managers of the companies were said to be absent twice, when our reporters visited.
