ABOUT 11 commuters have been confirmed dead while eight vehicles were burnt after a fuel-laden tanker fell and exploded at the Ugwu- Onyeama axis of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway on Saturday.
The Director of Enugu State Fire Service, Chief Okwudili Ohaa, confirmed the incident, stating that gallant firefighting officers of the service extinguished the fire which lasted over an hour.
The chief fire officer said that the Federal Road Safety Commission (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-laden tanker fell and exploded into flames at about 11:30am 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 firefighters to extinguish the fire before other paramilitary 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 caused widespread panic.
They said that initial rescue efforts were hindered by the intensity of the fire –intense dark and choking smoke– which made it difficult for bystanders to access the scene until the firefighters put the raging inferno under control.
They also said that some victims and vehicles were burnt beyond recognition.
Meanwhile, Enugu State governor, Dr Peter Mbah, who was at the scene for an on-the-spot assessment, on Saturday, expressed sadness over the accident.
The governor said the government had already swung into action to ensure that the victims receive full medical attention, while also taking steps to forestall future occurrences, including enforcement of road rules and fixing the part of the federal road that was in disrepair.
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Describing the accident as unfortunate, Mbah commiserated with the families of the victims.
He further directed the Enugu Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr Franklin Agbakoba, and the State Commissioner for Transport, Mr Obi Ozor, to ensure that all tankers conveying inflammable substances in the state have anti-spill locks that will prevent spills in case of accident.
“This is an accident involving a tanker that preliminary investigation shows may have had a break failure, fell down, had its product, premium motor spirit spilt from the tank and ignited. So, this is for us a tragedy where we have some casualties.
“But as I said, investigation is still at the 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.
“In the meantime, we have moved those that are in need of treatment to the hospitals for full medical attention.”
My Commissioner for Health and also my Special Adviser on Health, the Chief Medical Director of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology Teaching Hospital (ESUTTH), Parklane, Enugu, the police, and Federal Road Safety Corps are all involved. They have my instruction to ensure that maximum medical attentions were given to the survivors,” the governor stated.
Continuing, he stated, “But we’re also taking quick measures as a government. I have just been speaking the head of the Federal Road Safety Corps to make sure they enforce the rules that prohibit tanker drivers from the road without an anti-spill lock. Tankers conveying premium spirit and inflammable products must have an anti-spill lock to ensure that when these trucks for down, they do not spill. It is very important.
“Also, for us as a government, we are going to be looking at how we can deploy some traffic rules to ensure that we do not have 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.”
While briefing the governor on some of the preliminary investigation conducted by the FRSC sector commander for Enugu explained 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 identified injured road users were rushed to the hospital for treatment and thanked the governor for showing leadership by rushing to the scene and equally undertaking to foot the medical bills.
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