Many commuters have been feared dead and eight vehicles burnt as a fuel-laden tanker fell and exploded at Ugwu-Onyeama axis of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway on Saturday.
The Director, Enugu State Fire Service, Chief Okwudili Ohaa confirmed the incident in Enugu.
Ohaa said that gallant fire fighting officers of the service extinguished the fire which lasted over an hour.
The Chief Fire Officer said that the number of casualties in the inferno were uncertain as the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other security agencies are trying to evacuate the charred bodies of the victims.
He said that about eight vehicles were burnt and scores of road users, who scampered for safety, must had been injured in the incident.
“The suspected petroleum-ladened tanker fell and exploded into flames at about 11:30a.m. and the gallant fire fighting officers from our 9th Mile Station immediately rushed to the scene; but got overwhelmed.
“I have to immediately send for re-enforcement from the Ogui Road and Government House Fire Stations that supported the 9th Mile team.
“It took the combined efforts of 10 experienced and gallant fire fighters to extinguish the fire before other para-military personnel came to evacuate corpses and rescue those injured to nearby hospitals,” he said.
The chief fire officer thanked members of the public for quickly alerting the state fire service about the incident.
However, eyewitnesses described the tanker blast as devastating as it destroyed nearby vehicles and causing widespread panic.
They said that initial rescue efforts were hindered by the intensity of the fire – intense dark and choking smoke; thus, making it difficult for bystanders to access the scene until the fire fighters put the raging inferno under control.
They also said that some victims and vehicles were burnt beyond recognition.
Meanwhile, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has expressed sadness over the petrol tanker explosion.
A security source said 11 lives were lost in the inferno.
Mbah, who was at the Ugwu-Onyeama scene of the accident for on-the-spot assessment, said the government had already swung into action to ensure that the victims received full medical attention.
The governor also revealed that the government was taking steps to forestall future occurrences, including enforcement of road rules and fixing the part of the Federal road that was in disrepair.
Mbah commiserates with the families of the victims, describing the accident as “unfortunate”.
He directed the Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Enugu, Franklin Agbakoba, and the state’s Commissioner for Transport, Obi Ozor, to ensure that tankers conveying inflammable substances have anti-spill locks that would prevent spill in case of an accident.
“This is an accident involving a tanker that preliminary investigation shows may have had a brake failure, fell down, had its product, premium motor spirit, spilled from the tank and ignited.
“So, this is for us a tragedy where we have some casualties.
“But as I said, the investigation is still at preliminary stages. The police and other law enforcement agencies are on it.
“We want to get to the root of this for us to understand the true cause of the accident,” he said.
The governor noted that in the meantime, he had moved those that were in need of treatment to hospitals for full medical attention.
According to him, “my Health Commissioner and my Special Adviser on Health, the Chief Medical Director of Enugu State University of Science and Technology Teaching Hospital, the police and FRSC are all involved in taking care of the hospitalised.
“They have my instructions to ensure that maximum medical attention is given to the survivors,” the governor said.
He said that government would deploy some traffic rules to forestall a recurrence of this.
“We are obviously not going to wait for the Federal Government to fix the other section of the road.
“We, as government, are going to take steps to ensure that whatever needs to be done on that section of the Federal road is done immediately so we would never want a reoccurrence of this.”
Briefing the governor on the incident, the FRSC sector commander said that the tanker spill was as a result of a brake failure by the fuel tanker.
He added that 11 people lost their lives at the scene, while lots of unidentified injured road users were rushed to hospitals for treatment.
The sector commander thanked the governor for showing leadership by rushing to the scene and equally undertaking to foot the medical bills.
