Five people have been confirmed dead and over 70 cars burnt in the tanker explosion at the Eleme section of the East-West Road in Rivers State on Friday night.

An eyewitness who gave his name as Baridi told our correspondent that the incident followed a petrol-laden tanker which collided with a heavy-duty truck, spilling its contents and bursting into flames.

He said the fire spread to a long stretch of vehicles plying the Akpajo-Onne Road following the gridlock which is a usual occurrence on the road now under construction.

Baridi said, “You know that because of the bad road, there is no alternative route so many vehicles were caught in the fire.

“Some people inside their vehicles who tried to escape the fire were trapped in the fire and died.”

A motorist driving on the road at the time identified as Precious said, “I was approaching Akpajo bridge when I saw a thick hold-up. While I and other drivers tried to move further we saw people running and shouting fire, fire.

“So it was difficult for me even to reverse my vehicle. We meandered and packed somewhere. Only for us to come back and see that more than 100 vehicles were burnt. There are people burnt in their vehicles and some people running were also caught in the inferno.”

He blamed the tragedy on the reconstruction of the road which, according to him, had worsened the gridlock.

“Yes they are working on the road which is good but they should also create access. Not the way they are doing it. First, they should be fast about it and secondly, the contractor should know that vehicles are using the road. Otherwise, this would not have happened,” he added.

Confirming the casualty figure, the spokesperson for the State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, in an interview with our correspondent on Saturday, said, “For now about five persons are dead. The Commissioner of Police and his team were on the ground last night to ensure there is no breakdown of law and order.”

Meanwhile, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara this morning visited the site of the tanker explosion.

The Governor was accompanied by the Commissioner for Police, Olatunji Disu, and the Commissioner for Energy, Maximus Nwafor.

Governor Fubara, after inspecting the devastating site, directed security agencies to conduct a thorough assessment of the accidents to facilitate the provision of aid to victims’ families.

He said, “Yesterday around 7-8pm, we go information about a very serious inferno that was caused by a tanker conveying PMS.

“I got the information through the MD of Indorama and immediately alerted the security agencies. From what we are seeing this morning, it was a very pleasant case.

“We recorded, from what I am seeing, a huge number of vehicles being destroyed and souls lost. I have already asked the security agencies to give us a full brief. So that we can come into the situation fully by seeing how much we can support the families of the bereaved and see how we can cushion the effect of the losses.”

He also lamented the deteriorating condition of the Eleme section of the East-West road.

“We all know the situation of this road; it is really, really unfortunate. Most of our people when plying this road do so with caution,” he said. (Pieced together from reports by Saturday PUNCH and Channels TV)