By MOHAMMAD TIJJANI

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Kaduna State Command, has confirmed an incident involving a fully loaded Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tanker that caught fire at Kwangila area in Zaria LGA.

Mr Andrew Longkam, the state Sector Commander of the corps, confirmed this in a statement on Sunday in Kaduna.

Longkam said that the tanker, belonging to Greenville Company, was parked by the roadside along the Funtua-Zaria road when a gas valve malfunctioned, leading to ignition and a fire outbreak.

He said the fire affected some nearby shops and left three adult males with varying degrees of burnt injuries.

“The injured victims were promptly evacuated to Nakowa Hospital at Yangoro for initial treatment, and later referred to the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Shika, for further medical care,” he said.

The sector commander added that emergency responders swiftly brought the fire under control, though it briefly reignited before being completely extinguished.

According to him, traffic was temporarily diverted to the opposite lane of the road to avert secondary accidents, while normalcy has since been restored.

Longkam said efforts were ongoing to evacuate the affected tanker to ensure full restoration of traffic flow.

He advised motorists to exercise caution when approaching the area and to cooperate with FRSC personnel and other security agencies managing traffic.

The FRSC boss commended the prompt response of all emergency agencies involved in managing the situation.

He also expressed sympathy to the injured victims and wished them a speedy recovery.(NAN)