Horror greeted Onitsha commercial city today when a tanker carrying petrol lost control at Upper Iweka which resulted in an inferno that led to the death of at least four persons.
Eye witness account had it that the tanker head got detached from the fuel tank and the breaks could not respond as the driver tried to control the vehicle.
While the tanker head spead off the tank fell into the gutter and went up in flame as petrol flowed down the major Upper Iweka road connecting Ochanja market towards Oguta road.
Among the number of those confirmed dead include a woman and her baby that were allegedly burnt by the petrol fire while a two story building was also affected.
Most shops in the area were also affected while as at the time of this report many people were trapped in the burning buildings at Upper Iweka road.
Also vehicles and small shops were affected but the owners had already fled before the fire started at about 12 .30pm today when the bus conduct started shouting that the tanker has no break.
The Anambra state Police Commissioner Mr John Abang swiftly visited the scene of the incident along with Officers and men of the command to ensure that hoodlums do not capitalize on the incident to loot people’s property and wears while men of the Federal Road Safety Corps were seen diverting motorists to safe places.
The Police Public Relations Officer Mr Haruna Mohammed confirmed the death of the woman and her child in the fire incident but could not confirm the death of the other two persons.
He noted that the area has been cordoned by the police while investigations are on the find out the remote cause of the fire incident.
The Anambra state Fire Service could not get to the scene of the fire as they explained that the operational vehicle had problems on its way to Onitsha from Awka hence the Delta State fire service had to come to Onitsha from Asaba to assist in fighting the fire.
OKEY MADUFORO AWKA
