Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara on Saturday, April 27, visited the scene of the fire disaster that reportedly consumed over 100 vehicles and lives in the Eleme axis of the East-West Road in Rivers State.
Mr Fubara, accompanied by the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, CP Olatunji Disu and Director of State Security Services (DSS) promised to compensate victims of the incident.
The governor said: “We are here to see for ourselves, to get a first-hand report of the incident that happened yesterday (Friday, April 26) about 7:30pm that was caused by a tanker conveying PMS (petrol).
“I got the information through the MD of Indorama (Petrochemical Company Ltd) and I immediately alerted the security agencies, to make sure they step in. From what we are seeing this morning, it is not a pleasant situation.
“From what I am seeing, a huge number of vehicles was destroyed, souls lost. I have asked the security agencies to give us a full brief, so that we can come into the situation fully by seeing how much we can support the families who are bereaved and how we can cushion the loss, which is no fault of theirs.
“We all know the situation of this road. It’s really, really unfortunate. Most of our people, when plying this road, should ply with caution. I believe strongly that this situation would have been avoided if the motorists have behaved properly. It’s late. This is the situation we find ourselves. We will see how much we can control it.”
Meanwhile, as first reported by The Nation on Saturday, April 27, no fewer than 100 vehicles and unknown number of persons were feared roasted in multiple explosions that occurred from fuel tankers at the Eleme section of the East-West road in Rivers State.
The incident, which occurred late night on Friday, April 26, left many travelers stranded. It was learnt that a tanker, laden with petroleum products, exploded and burst into flames that spread to other tankers and many vehicles trapped in a gridlock.
While some said more than 300 vehicles were burnt, others said they counted over 100. Though the number of victims could not be ascertained, sources said many people trapped in their vehicles were roasted in the inferno.
Sources blamed the incident on dangerous driving and the company handling the reconstruction of the Eleme section of the road.
The fire reportedly raged for hours, but was put out by many fire service trucks, with support from the Indorama Petrochemical Company situated in the area.
A source said he heard a deafening sound twice from his residence, with voices shouting for help.
The source said: “I heard a very loud sound about 20 minutes ago, and people were shouting. The sound came from the Petro-Chemical company area. So, when I came out, I saw a tick smoke with fire from a distance.”
A resident of Port Harcourt, Segun Owolabi, said: “I saw four dead bodies, burnt. Some may have been in the bushes because many ran away. I saw a whole stretch of vehicles burnt down, trailers burnt down.
“There seems to be a truck carrying substances, and it was as if it had a collision with another vehicle that may have ignited the fire. Over 20 vehicles burnt down, and several people trapped.
“There may be more bodies. Oh my God, this is a tragedy. A stretch of vehicles burnt.”
