By: Nwakaji Martins
The authorities in Rivers State have reported that three individuals succumbed to injuries in a conflagration involving a fuel tanker that occurred in the state on Tuesday.
The tragic event unfolded when a tanker laden with petrol swerved off the road, colliding with a taxi and erupting into flames at the Obiri Ikwerre flyover section of the East-West Road around 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday.
The spokesperson for the command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, disclosed in Port Harcourt that the occupants of the vehicle sustained severe burns and were unidentifiable.
Ms Iringe-Koko conveyed, “I can confirm the demise of three individuals following an incident where a petrol-laden tanker overturned onto a commercial vehicle at the Obiri Ikwerre flyover section of the East-West Road. The Fire Service has effectively extinguished the blaze, but the vicinity has been sealed off due to the ongoing leakage of petrol from the tanker.
The Commissioner of Police, Tunji Disu, and I visited the site earlier to evaluate the situation.”
Ms. Iringe-Koko further elaborated that traffic had been rerouted from the flyover to alternative routes in order to avert additional casualties.
At the site of the accident, there were charred vehicles and bodies of the victims of the fire on the roadway.
The incident took place a short distance away from the Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital and the University of Port Harcourt.
There was a significant traffic jam extending several kilometers on the road leading to the N200 billion Ring Road project currently under construction by the Rivers Government.
An observer, Ebiere Faith, remarked that the impact of the explosion was felt several kilometers away from her workplace.
Ms Faith reported, “Some individuals claimed that their glass windows were shattered as a result of the explosion.”
