At least five people were killed and more than 70 cars were destroyed in a tanker explosion on the East-West Road in Rivers State on Friday, April 26th.
The explosion happened at the Eleme section of the East-West Road in Rivers State on Friday night.
An eyewitness named Baridi reported that the incident was caused by a tanker carrying petrol colliding with a heavy-duty truck, causing it to catch fire.
The fire then spread to many vehicles on the Akpajo-Onne Road due to the traffic jam caused by ongoing construction work on the road.
“You know that because of the bad road, there is no alternative route, so many vehicles were caught in the fire,” Baridi told Punch.
“Some people inside their vehicles who tried to escape the fire were trapped in the fire and died.”
A motorist said: “I was approaching Akpajo bridge when I saw a thick hold-up. While I and other drivers tried to move further we saw people running and shouting fire, fire.
“So it was difficult for me even to reverse my vehicle. We meandered and packed somewhere. Only for us to come back and see that more than 100 vehicles were burnt. There are people burnt in their vehicles and some people running were also caught in the inferno.”
He attributed the tragedy to the road reconstruction, stating that it had made the traffic congestion worse.
“Yes they are working on the road which is good but they should also create access. Not the way they are doing it. First, they should be fast about it and secondly, the contractor should know that vehicles are using the road. Otherwise, this would not have happened,” he added.
Confirming the casualty figure, the spokesperson for the State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said: “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.”
It was reported that Governor Siminalayi Fubara would visit the explosion site on Saturday to assess the situation firsthand.
