FIVE people have been confirmed dead and several injured in an inferno after a tanker exploded on the East-West Road axis of Port-Harcourt, Rivers state, on the night of Friday, April 27.
About 70 vehicles were said to have been consumed in the tragedy.
The spokesperson for the State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, told the Punch on Saturday that five people had died so far from the incident.
, “For now, about five persons are dead. The Commissioner of Police and his team were on the ground last night to ensure there is no breakdown of law and order.”
Following the impact of the inferno, eye-witnesses said more people could have died from the accident, which happened after a tanker carrying petroleum products burst into flames.
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The tanker was said to be travelling on a run-down road when it was struck by another large truck, causing it to burst into flames.
The fire quickly spread to many other cars on the route, trapping occupants and preventing many of them from escaping.
The East-West Road has been under construction for many years, increasing risks of accident for motorists who ply the route.
A Facebook user, Chinedu Joseph, posted a video of the incident on his page and said many cars had been burnt down in the inferno.
“It sounds like a serious and distressing situation. I hope the authorities and emergency services respond promptly to contain the fire and provide assistance to those affected,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara visited the site of the tanker explosion in Eleme Local Government Area on Saturday, April 27.
Fubara was accompanied to the scene of the incident by the Rivers Commissioner for Police, Olatunji Disu, and the Commissioner for Energy, Maximus Nwafor.
After seeing the carnage caused by the fire, Fubara directed security agencies to conduct a thorough assessment of the accidents to facilitate the provision of aid to victims’ families.
He said he got the information through the medical director of Indorama and immediately alerted the security agencies.
“From what we are seeing this morning, it was not a very pleasant case.
We recorded, from what I am seeing, a huge number of vehicles being destroyed and souls lost. I have already asked the security agencies to give us a full brief so that we can come into the situation fully by seeing how much we can support the families of the bereaved and how we can cushion the effect of the losses,” the governor stated.
He also lamented the state of the East-West road’s Eleme segment, which has rapidly deteriorated.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance