Anambra: Death toll over tanker explosion hits seven

By: Ikenna Oluka

The Police Command in Anambra has confirmed seven dead, and scores of injured in the petrol explosion that happened at about 10pm on Saturday night in Amawbia near Awka, the capital city of Anambra State.

GRASSROOTS reports that the fire disaster emanated from a petrol tanker that was negotiating the Amawbia junction before it fell and exploded into fire, while the petroleum product it was conveying flowed freely through a drainage channel, spreading the fire further.

The Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Haruna Mohammed, told DAILY POST on Sunday Morning that so far, a total number of seven corpses have been certified dead at various hospitals by medical doctors while the only surviving victim was referred to the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching hospital Nnewi and was admitted at the intensive care unit of the hospital.

He said, “Out of the seven Corpses confirmed dead, three are deposited at Amaku General Hospital Morgue, two at Regina Caeli Hospital and another two at Piston Hospital Morgue for postmortem examination.”

Meanwhile, as at Sunday morning, the area was besieged by sympathisers and victims’ families, most of which came to identify their charred vehicles.

A tricycle operator, Mr. Sunday Ugwu said, “I was just driving through this road when the fire started yesterday night, so when I found out I could not escape with my keke, I parked it and ran away.

Shop owners, whose shop building including their wares were razed were also seen at the site on Sunday morning crying profusely.