Eight burnt to death as tanker explodes in Delta

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says eight persons were burnt to death after a petrol-laden tanker went up in flame at Ologbo bridge on the Benin-Sapele expressway, Delta state. 

In a statement, Bisi Kazeem, spokesperson of the FRSC, said the accident on Sunday was a “dual crash” involving “15 different categories of vehicles”.

According to the FRSC spokesperson, the affected vehicles were one Toyota Hiace bus, two Ford buses, one Volkswagen Passat Passat, two J5 Peugeot buses, one Daylong Motorcycle and eight tankers.

Kazeem said seven persons were also injured in the accident, noting that all the victims were male adults.

“The truck ladened with Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS), coming from Warri, Delta State, fell on the highway and spilled the PMS product on the road, thereby leading to an explosion that gutted the aforementioned number of vehicles and the 15 male victims,” the statement reads.

Speaking on the crash, Dauda Biu, FRSC corps marshal, called on owners of tankers conveying inflammable products to ensure compliance with minimum safety standards by installing protection valves (anti-spill) in their vehicles.

The incident comes weeks after about eight people died in a petrol tanker explosion in Ore, the capital of Odigbo LGA of Ondo state.

A pregnant woman and three children were said to be among those who died in the incident.