Tanker Explosion Kills 80 At Onitsha

No fewer than 80 people were burnt  to death when a fuel tanker caught fire and exploded on the road between Onitsha and Enugu.

Several witnesses said that the truck which hit a pot-hole and overturned exploded when a policeman who wanted to distance inquisitive onlookers fired his gun into the air. One witness said that people had been trying to scoop  and recover the spilled petrol.

At least five minibuses packed with up to 18 passengers each and two cars were ignited by the fireball. A witness said that one of the minibuses was filled with schoolchildren, all of whom were burnt alive.

“Immediately the policeman shot into the air, the tanker burst into flames and engulfed other vehicles that were close by and also trapped some of the people that were gathered at the scene.

Anambra State Road Safety Director, Ben Ekenna admitted that local roads were in a bad state and was quoted as saying that, “if something isn’t done quickly, tragedies like this will happen again.”

Accidents on Nigeria’s poorly maintained inter-city roads are common, with trucks habitually driving at breakneck speeds.

Nigerian newspapers are daily filled with images of overturned trucks, flooded on collapsed roads and massive potholes.

Almost everything in Nigeria, including the vast country’s petrol and oil demands, are transported by road because of a lack of rail infrastructure thereby, increasing the possibility of accidents.

Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) says that around 400 people are killed every month by road accidents in Nigeria.

When he was elected in May 2007, President Umaru Yar’Adua promised to improve road and rail transport in the country.

Last June a road safety expert said Nigeria needs to treat the carnage on our roads as a national emergency.