Residents of Onitsha, the commercial city of Anambra State, were thrown into panic on Thursday as another tanker, laden with petrol, fell along the popular Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, near army barracks Onitsha.
The accident, which occurred around Chipex Filling station in the afternoon, was the third involving tankers in Onitsha in the last two weeks.
The first of the incidents, which happened on October 16, claimed five lives, including a mother and her only child, and destroyed buildings and shops at the Ochanja market.
Confirming the accident today, the spokesman of the state police command, Mr. Haruna Mohammed, said the state Commissioner of police, Mr. John Abang, had already led a team of the Command’s operatives to the scene, and that the operatives of the state fire Service and the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) had also stormed the scene of the incident to save the situation.
Mohemmed further said no death had been recorded, saying that fuel was spilling from the tanker.
According to him, the entire area had been cordoned off by security operatives.
He said preliminary investigation showed that the fuel tanker fell into a ditch as a result of break failure.
“The PMS is spilling out at the time of making this report. It is highly advisable you alert residents in the area through your medium to steer clear from the premises in order to prevent any disaster.
“Meanwhile, Police patrol teams have cordoned off the Area and fire Service department was equally contacted to be on standby in order to prevent fire incident”, he stated.
