Three burnt to death as explosion rocks Rivers

• The tragic incident happened when a petrol-laden tanker skidded off the road, colliding with a taxi and going up flames

A fuel tanker explosion in Nigeria’s oil-rich southern state of Rivers has left at least three people dead.

The incident happened on Tuesday at the Obiri Ikwerre flyover section of the East-West Road around 9:00 a.m on Tuesday.

The tragic incident happened when a petrol-laden tanker skidded off the road, colliding with a taxi and going up flames

The command’s spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident, stating that the car’s occupants were burnt beyond recognition,hence couldn’t be identified.

Ms Iringe-Koko said, “I can confirm that three persons perished after a tanker carrying petrol fell on a commercial vehicle at the Obiri Ikwerre flyover stretch of the East-West Road. The Fire Service has successfully put out the fire, but the area has been cordoned off due to ongoing petrol leakage from the tanker. The Commissioner of Police, Tunji Disu, and I were on the ground earlier to assess the situation,” she said.

Iringe-Koko disclosed that traffic had been diverted from the flyover to alternative routes to prevent further casualties.

At the accident scene, there were burnt vehicle and charred bodies of victims of the inferno on the road.

The incident happened a few kilometres from the Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital and the University of Port Harcourt.

It caused a massive gridlock stretching a few kilometres on the road connecting to the N200 billion Ring Road project currently being constructed by the Rivers Government.