5 burnt to death in Kwara tanker fire

At least five people have reportedly been burnt to death and several others injured after a tanker conveying petrol fell in Moro LGA of Kwara State.

The incident, it was gathered, occurred at the weekend about an hour after the tanker fell and people rushed there to scoop petrol.

A witness explained that, “After the tanker fell, the fuel found its way into the gutter and people rushed to collect some of it and in the process, fire was ignited.

“Two children that went to fetch water were torched and one died in the process. The second is battling for life in the hospital.

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“A man who went to defecate in a nearby bush oblivious of the development was burnt in the process, and about three people that were still scooping the product when the fire came through the gutter path were burnt to ashes. We have five deaths while seven people have been injured and rushed to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital.”

The spokesman of the Kwara Fire Service, Hassan Hakeem Adekunle, who confirmed the incident, said the fire was quenched by their men, adding that, “I cannot put a figure of the casualties now.”