Petrol tanker explodes in Onitsha

 A petrol tanker caught fire in the early hours of Friday at Upper Iweke, Onitsha, Anambra state.

The state’s Federal Road Safety Corps command said no casualty was recorded in the incident.

Andrew Kumapayi, the state sector commander, said the tanker loaded with 33,000 litres of petrol with no registration number, caught fire about 2:30 am on Friday.

“The tanker caught fire due to electrical fault in the engine of the vehicle. The driver started shouting ‘fire! fire!’ The neighbouring houses tried their best to put out the fire,” he said.

“But the fire servicemen, FRSC officials and policemen responded promptly and the fire has been extinguished. No casualty or injury was recorded.

“Officers of the FRSC are diverting traffic and cordoning the scene to avoid running into the carcass and the fire service vehicles.”

A similar incident happened on Thursday when a truck loaded with goods going to Enugu caught fire along UNIZIK main gate, Awka-Enugu expressway about 2:30 pm.

Kumapayi said the FRSC patrol team alerted the state fire service, which responded and was able to put out the fire.

“The vehicle, which loaded from Onitsha main market, was heading to Cameroon. The Driver, Mr Chimezie Aneke, said they were travelling with the manager of the company and two others,” Kumapayi said.

“Some of the goods in the vehicle included AC gas cylinders, perfumes, cosmetics, grinding machines, soaps. There was no injury.”

At least, two cases of petrol tanker fire incidents were recorded in the state late last year.

A woman and her child were killed in a petrol tanker inferno at Ochanja Market while more than one hundred shops were reportedly razed.

As a result, the state government banned petrol tankers from moving during the daytime to “save life and properties of residents”.