Two persons were crushed to death with two other people injured when a giant billboard collapsed at Osisioma junction, Aba, Abia State.

The deceased whose names could not be ascertained as at the time of filing the report were simply identified as a noodle shop operator and a young Hausa man.

The billboard collapsed during the storm that accompanied a torrential rainfall which lasted about three hours last Wednesday.

Residents said the casualty figure could have been higher were it not for the lock down directive given by the state governor, Okezie Ikpeazu as part of measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, as the area is reputed for heavy vehicular and human traffic.

An eyewitness disclosed that the survivors sustained life-threatening injuries as a result of the impact of the huge pipes of the billboard that hit them.

The eyewitness said the two persons that died in the incident were trapped under the heavy billboard pipe and could only be brought out with the aid of heavy duty equipment belonging a construction company working in the area.

A source said about ten customers of the deceased who were inside the makeshift eatery narrowly escaped death.

A tricycle operator, who identified himself as Emmanuel Nwangbo and whose commercial tricycle was damaged in the incident, said he parked at the junction because of the heavy rain and the storm that accompanied it.

Nwangbo who thanked God for saving his life, said his only regret was that his means of livelihood, which he bought on hire purchase was damaged beyond repairs and appealed for financial assistance.

One of the deceased, it was gathered had since been buried in by the Hausa community in Aba in accordance with Islamic rites. (Sunday Sun)