From Joseph Obukata (The New Diplomat’s N’Delta Correspondent)
At least 20 persons have been reportedly killed and many injured after a fuel tanker exploded in Delta State.
it was gathered that the tanker burst into flames after it fell into a ditch around Koko and Ologbo axis of the Benin/Sapele expressway in Ethiope West Local Government Area of the State.
Gory images of the incident circulating on social media showed the burned remains of dozens of people mainly passengers who were trapped on their vehicles.
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One footage showed that the incident happened around 11: am.
Several vehicles on the road were trapped and burnt, a passenger who narrowly escaped the fire told newsmen.
The witness who simply gave his name as Nnamdi, said that he was on his way from Benin when a vehicle conveying him was made to pull up off the road because of the heavy gridlock the incident had caused on the road.
He said, “the situation was terrible. Many people died because they were trapped.
“If my memory will not fail me, I counted about 20 gory bodies and 10 passenger vehicles that were burnt. Ours was luck because we got there when fire fighters were already battling the fire.
“Many people were trapped inside the vehicles and it was difficult to rescue them because the fire was really huge.
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“We were told that the tanker was trying to avoid a bad spot in the road when it suddenly veered off, and fell with an explosion”, he said.
Earlier, officials of Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) were at the scene to battle the fire and rescue victims.
Several corpses have been evacuated from the vehicles and some seen burnt beyond recognition on the deplorable road.
