Petrol tanker explosion left four people dead and 70 vehicles burned in Rivers State

Four persons and more than seventy vehicles were destroyed in Friday’s fuel tanker explosion in the state, according to the Rivers Police Command.

Around 7:30 p.m., an explosion happened along the Eleme stretch of the East-West Road in the state.

The tragedy happened as a result of a collision between a heavy-duty truck and a tanker carrying gasoline, according to SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the command’s spokesperson, who talked with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Saturday.

There were severely burned cars and scorched victim corpses on the road, according to a NAN correspondent who was on the scene.

The incident occurred approximately 10 kilometers from Port Harcourt and a few meters from the Indorama Petrochemical Company.

Five kilometers of the road that was being rebuilt as part of the Rivers Government’s N200 billion Ring Road project was completely blocked in traffic.

In order to allow traffic to flow, state government trucks were observed evacuating the burned vehicles, escorted by police and Federal Road Safety Commission personnel.

Onyeka Ubani, an eyewitness who barely avoided the explosion, told NAN that as he was carrying passengers on his just purchased tricycle (Keke), they heard an enormous noise in front of them.

“The loud sound was followed by a massive fireball, causing everyone to flee for safety.

“We managed to escape, but unfortunately, my Keke caught fire in the process.

“I thank God for my life, but I am at a loss about what to do with my life now, having recently purchased this Keke,” a distraught Ubani said.

Another eyewitness, David Jumbo, said that he was returning home from work around the Akpajo axis of the East-West Road when the incident occurred.

He narrated that after the explosion, vehicles and victims were caught by fire, which stretched over 200 metres.

“It happened so quickly that it could be likened to scenes from Hollywood movies.

“While I was fleeing for safety, I saw a pregnant woman struggling to exit one of the commercial vehicles.

“Unfortunately, when I returned this morning, I found the deceased pregnant woman trapped in the bus as she tried to escape,” he recounted.

Jumbo attributed the accident to the recklessness of truck drivers, who disregarded road warnings despite the ongoing road construction.

Gov. Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers, who visited the accident scene, described it as tragic and sad.

He urged motorists to always exercise caution while on the road.

“This incident is not a pleasant one, we recorded a huge number of vehicles destroyed and lives lost.

“I have already asked the relevant agencies to brief us on how we can support the bereaved families to mitigate their losses.

“This incident would have been avoided if the motorists had adhered to proper conduct. People should ply this road with caution,” Fubara said.

NAN