By ALEX ENEBELI

A tanker fire at the Ugwu Onyeama axis of the Enugu- Onitsha Expressway has claimed three lives and destroyed property estimated at N900 million.

The Deputy Superintendent of Fire (DSF), Federal Fire Service, Mr Maxwell Ucheagwu, confirmed the incident to newsmen on Tuesday in Enugu.

According to Ucheagwu, the fire incident occurred in the early hours of Monday, June 22, following a collision involving a Dangote truck loaded with bags of cement and a tanker transporting Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

He said the Federal Fire Service Command in Enugu received a distress call at about 3:28 a.m. and immediately deployed personnel and firefighting equipment to the scene.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the accident was caused by brake failure on the Dangote truck, which rammed into the LNG tanker, causing damage to the tanker and leakage of its contents,” he said.

Ucheagwu disclosed that three persons lost their lives in the incident, while several others sustained varying degrees of injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

He commended Nigerian soldiers stationed at a nearby roadblock for their prompt intervention in rescuing victims and evacuating the injured to a nearby hospital for treatment.

“The fire affected an estimated area measuring about 200 by 100 square metres,” Ucheagwu said.

He explained that firefighters successfully contained the situation by cooling the leaking LNG tanker with two medium jets of water and foam solution deployed from Fire Fighting Service appliance FFS 126, with support from the Enugu State Fire Service ENSFS 010.

The deputy superintendent of fire noted that subsequent inspection and damping-down operations confirmed that there was no further leakage or outbreak of fire.

According to him, property worth approximately N900 million was lost in the incident, while assets estimated at N800 million were salvaged through the swift response of firefighters.

He said that all personnel and firefighting appliances returned safely to the station at about 6:38 a.m. after successfully bringing the emergency under control. (NAN)