Fuel Tanker Explosion Claims Several Lives In Delta

In the early hours of October 1, a fuel tanker that was travelling on the Sapele-Benin express road’s Ologbo end fell and caught fire, killing five people.

Mr. Bright Edafe, the public relations officer for the Delta State Police, confirmed the fatalities and mentioned that among the destroyed trucks were two tankers and five trailers.

He said: “In the fire incident that occurred, we recorded five deaths, eight buses, two tankers, five trailers, two cars and one motorcycle were burnt completely.”

According to reports, after the tanker dropped, locals rushed to it to scoop up the gasoline when suddenly a fire broke out, killing at least five of them.

Governor of Delta State Sheriff Oborevwori expressed sorrow over the fatal tanker incident. He continued by blaming the incident on the inadequate condition of federal roadways.

In a statement released by Festus Ahon, the governor expressed sympathy to the families of those killed in the accident and urged the federal government to move quickly to restore the damaged sections of the road.

He said: “In the early hours of today, we got information that an explosion occurred at Koko junction along the Warri-Benin expressway. On behalf of the government and people of Delta State, I commiserate with the families of the victims who lost their lives to the inferno.

“This sad and unfortunate incident would have been avoided if the Federal Government had lived up to its responsibility of maintaining their roads.

“While I mourn the deceased, I use this medium to reiterate my earlier call on the Federal Government to save the lives of our people from these harrowing experiences.

“I also use this medium to advise our people to refrain from the dangerous act of scooping fuel from a fallen tanker because of the highly inflammable nature of the product.”

Mr Wale Abass, the commissioner of police for Delta State, has expressed sympathy to the families of the five people who perished in the fire explosion that occurred yesterday.

“In the early hours of today, 1/10/2023 0200hrs, the command recorded a tragic incident where a tanker laden with PMS being driven towards Benin along Warri-Benin Road fell down upon getting to Ugbenu Koko Junction,” the CP said in a statement by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe.

“Its content spilled into the nearby swamp and the spillage attracted a couple of youths who took advantage of the incident and started scooping the fuel into jerry cans and other containers.

“While they were at it, an explosion erupted and the fire from the explosion engulfed the whole area

“At the event of this outburst, the scene was visited and bodies of the victims were evacuated to Oghara General Hospital’s mortuary.”