Many persons are feared dead and cars burnt after a tanker exploded at the Eleme section of the East-West Road, Rivers State.

An unidentified number of persons were said to have been burnt to death, with cars burnt in the incident.

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

It was gathered that the incident was caused by the 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.”

Meanwhile, the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has described the incident as a very unfortunate.

Fubara noted that the accident could have been avoided if the motorist were cautious.

Fubara expressed sadness at the gory sights that he saw when he visited the scene of the incident, accompanied by the state Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, and the Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources, Mr Uchechukwu Nwafor, on Saturday morning.

Fubara stated, “We are here to see for ourselves and get first-hand information of the incident of what happened yesterday night

“About 7.30 – 8 pm, we got information on the gravity of the incident. I was told that it was caused by a tanker vehicle that was conveying Premium Motor Spirit.

“I got the information through the MD of Indorama, and I immediately alerted the security agencies to make sure they took control of the security situation in the area.

“And from what we are seeing this morning, it was not a pleasant case. We recorded a huge number of vehicles destroyed and lives lost.”

Fubara explained that he had already requested the relevant government agencies to provide him with a detailed account of their findings to enable the State Government to take appropriate decisions and actions to significantly remedy the situation and reduce the negative effects on the affected people.

“I have already asked the relevant agencies to give us a full brief so that we can come into the situation fully by seeing to how much we can support the bereaved families, and also cushion the effect of the losses, which I believe, is no fault of a good number of them.

“We all know the situation of this road. It is really unfortunate. Most of our people, when plying this road, should ply it with caution.

“I believe very strongly that this situation would have been avoidable if the motorists had behaved properly. But it is late already. The damage has happened. This is the situation we have found ourselves in. We will see how we can control the aftermath,” he added