The Rivers State Police Command has confirmed four individuals and more than 70 vehicles were engulfed in flames during Friday’s fuel tanker eruption.
The incident took place along the Eleme segment of the East-West Road at approximately 7:30 p.m.
Grace Iringe-Koko, the command’s spokesperson, on Saturday said that the catastrophe was the result of a collision between a large truck and a tanker filled with petrol.
According to videos circulating the internet numerous vehicles were burned, and the bodies of victims were found charred along the road.
The incident occurred a short distance from the Indorama Petrochemical Company and approximately 10 kilometers away from the Port Harcourt Refinery.
State government trucks, accompanied by police and Federal Road Safety Commission officials, were observed removing the burned vehicles to ease traffic congestion.
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According to News Agency of Nigeria, NAN Onyeka Ubani, a witness who narrowly escaped the explosion while transporting passengers in his newly acquired tricycle (Keke), recounted hearing a loud noise followed by a massive fireball, prompting everyone to flee for safety.
“We managed to escape, but unfortunately, my Keke caught fire in the process.
“I thank God for my life, but I am at a loss about what to do with my life now, having recently purchased this Keke,” a distraught Ubani said.
Another witness, David Jumbo, said that he was returning home from work around the Akpajo axis of the East-west Road when the incident occurred.
He narrated that after the explosion, vehicles and victims were caught by fire which stretched over 200 metres.
“It happened so quickly that it could be likened to scenes from Hollywood movies.
“While I was fleeing for safety, I saw a pregnant woman struggling to exit one of the commercial vehicles.
“Unfortunately, when I returned this morning, I found the deceased pregnant woman trapped in the bus as she tried to escape,” he recounted.
Jumbo attributed the accident to the recklessness of truck drivers who disregarded road warnings despite the ongoing road construction.
