Crash kills electricity at the south coast

By Lanuola Tupufia – Ah Tong 05 October 2016, 12:00AM

A truck coming from Vailima heading towards Falealili crashed at Tiavi, cutting the electricity supply to thousands of residents on the south coast of Upolu, yesterday.

The truck uprooted an electric pole upon impact and some 13 passengers were extremely lucky to be alive. 

Many of them required urgent medical attention.

One of the passengers, TulimanuTauvile, said they are grateful no one died.

“Most of us had minor injuries but one guy that flew out of the truck looked critical,” he said.

Mr. Tauvile said he could not be sure about what caused the crash.

The truck belongs to Nonu Samoa Enterprises and the workers were on their way to Fusi Safata to collect nonu when the accident happened. 

At the scene, the truck’s petrol tank was lying meters away from the truck. 

An employee of the Electric Power Corporation (E.P.C) who was not authorised to speak to the media said the accident cut the power supply in some partsof Siumu, Falealili, Aleipata and Lotofaga.  

He explained that they did not know about the accident until people contacted their office complaining about the power outage. 

The employee said the power had to be turned off from Apia while they worked on installing a brand new electric pole. 

He estimated the cost of the 12meters high volt electric pole at $4,000. 

It was not possible to get an official comment from the hospital on the condition of the passengers involved in the crash. 

By Lanuola Tupufia – Ah Tong 05 October 2016, 12:00AM

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