An unidentified number of persons were said to have been burnt to death, with cars burnt in the incident of a tanker explosion at the Eleme section of the East-West Road, Rivers State.

The incident, which involved a tanker loaded with petroleum products, happened around 9:45 pm on Friday.

 

According to a source, two very loud sounds came from the petrochemical company with people shouting that a tanker had exploded and started raging.

Reports state that the incident was caused by a petrol-laden tanker colliding with a heavy-duty truck, spilling its contents and bursting into flames, causing the petrol to spread over a long stretch of vehicles plying the Akpajo-Onne Road following the gridlock, which is a usual occurrence on the road due to ongoing construction.

An eyewitness says, “Some people inside their vehicles who tried to escape the fire were trapped in the fire and died.”

Another eyewitness says, “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 parked 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."