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A petrol tanker explosion at Oluku, along the Benin-Lagos Road in Edo State, has reportedly left scorepeople feared dead and 10 others injured.
The accident happened at about 4 a.m. on Thursday after the tanker reportedly overturned while attempting to make a U-turn near Oluku market, releasing petrol onto the road and into nearby drainage channels.
The spillage drew a crowd of residents and passers-by who began gathering the fuel before security personnel arrived to secure the area.
A witness said the tanker owner subsequently arranged for another truck to recover the petrol remaining in the overturned vehicle, but the operation ended in disaster when the tanker suddenly caught fire.
The resulting inferno reportedly engulfed people at the scene and destroyed shops erected around the drainage channels.
Several vehicles were also said to have been burnt.
Some victims were said to have been burnt beyond recognition, while emergency responders evacuated injured persons for treatment.
The witness who craved anonymity said, “I had also joined others in collecting the spilled fuel, but I survived after a soldier warned me to leave the area.”
He recounted that the warning prompted him to turn around just before the tanker erupted in flames, sending people fleeing in different directions.
The witness added that two men who were beneath the tanker were caught in the fire, while traders lost their shops to the inferno.
Ten injured persons were reportedly taken to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), where they received medical attention. The bodies of the deceased were said to have been deposited at the hospital’s mortuary.
The Chief Medical Director of UBTH, Prof. Idia Ize-Iyamu, was seen supervising emergency operations involving personnel at the accident and emergency and burns units.
Meanwhile, the Edo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Preye Ezekiel Bedford, said security and emergency agencies were deployed to the scene to manage traffic and support response efforts.
Bedford identified the FRSC, police, fire service and Edo State Traffic Management Agency as among the agencies involved.
He however stated that he was still at the scene when contacted and would provide information on the casualties after obtaining further details.
The actual number of people killed in the explosion had yet to be officially established as of the time of filing this report.
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