The scene of the petrol tanker accident at Okogbe, in Ahoada East Local Government Area, on East-West Road in Rivers State…yesterday
It was like a scene from hell – piles of burnt bodies, smouldering vehicles and all-green plants darkened by fire.
A crowd of sympathiser watching helplessly; some holding their heads in their hands and others simply standing by, crying over the calamity that befell Okogbe, a village in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State.
No fewer than 95 persons died in a petrol tanker fire while scooping fuel. In hospital, over 100 are in critical conditions.
The incident happened at 6:30 am, beside Oando filling station at Okogbe, between Ahoada and Mbiama on the ever-busy East-West Road, which is being dualised by the Federal Government. A terrible traffic seized the road yesterday.
A tanker with registration number: Delta: XA 340 TDU, laden with petrol, crashed with three other vehicles: a Toyota Corolla saloon car, with registration number: Lagos: RQ 218 AAA; a Toyota Hiace Hummer bus (XZ613AGL) and a Mazda bus. Also burnt were 34 motorcycles.
All the victims were given mass burial at the scene.
A senior official of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), who declined to give his name, said the fire was caused by one of the victims, who telephoned others to come and scoop fuel. Many victims were still in the bush, he said.
The NSCDC official said many of the victims were being treated locally, adding that some of the bodies had been removed by relatives.
Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who cancelled all his engagements in Abuja and rushed to the scene, was devastated.
There was inadequate bed space at the Ahoada General Hospital, Ahoada in Ahoada East Local Government Area, where most of the badly burnt victims were rushed to. Some of them laid on bare floor. Many were moved to hospitals in Port Harcourt, the state capital
One of the badly burnt victims on bare floor, Mr. Victor Ezekiel, an indigene of Okogbe in Rivers State, who was writhing in pains at 1:39 pm, said: “Please doctor, save me. My stomach is paining me.”
Two of the victims rushed to Ahoada General Hospital died. Victims’ apprehensive relatives, in their hundreds, storm the hospital premises, making crowd control very difficult.
Health Commissioner Dr. Sampson Parker, who was at the scene and later at the Ahoada General Hospital, described the incident as cremation, a national disaster and the worst since the Civil War.
Parker, who cried at the hospital, said: “I think this is the worst single disaster that has happened in Nigeria. The corpses I counted there (at the scene) alone, in fact, 200 and they have not finished counting. It is cremation. The corpses were burnt to ashes. So, how many can you count? It is a sad situation. Quite a pity!
“Most of the victims have over 70 per cent burns. Bad cases. In best centres, it will be difficult to save them. If they did not go to scoop the fuel, the situation would have been saved. We heard that over 50 victims were taken to hospitals. Fire fighters’ response should not be blamed.
“Those running in the bush were affected by the fire. People should be disaster conscious. A tanker with fuel is a bomb waiting to explode. Our people should understand the danger they are exposed to.”
Before the commissioner could speak with reporters at the hospital, he excused himself for five minutes to regian his composure. His eyes red with tears, Parker said the fire was worse than the Sosoliso plane crash of 2005 at the Port Harcourt International Airport.
Commissioner for Special Duties Emeka Nwogu, who was also at the Ahoada General Hospital, described the incident as “very sad and quite unfortunate”.
Nwogu said: “What level of poverty will make people to scoop fuel from a tanker carrying 33,000 litres of petrol? Our people will never learn. This is not the first time, but the magnitude is very high. Our people are not safety and security conscious. They play with their lives.
“During the recent Igwuruta tanker fire in Port Harcourt (in Ikwerre Local Governement Area of Rivers State, on the dualised road to Port Harcourt International Airport), six persons died, with many people injured; houses and other valuable property were burnt in the morning, but I got calls in the evening of the same day that some people still went into the burnt tanker to scoop fuel.
“Vehicle owners, especially tanker owners, should start using educated drivers. Most of the tanker drivers are stark illiterates, who take drugs, alcohol and sleep in brothels, but will still drive in the morning.
“Educated drivers, who are well paid, will know the implications of taking drugs, alcohol and sleeping in brothels and will know traffic signs. If the road is bad, can’t they slow down? It is a pity that Rivers State lost many people. I sympathise with their families.”
An okada rider, Mr. Godbless Shadrack, who hails from Ubramo in Ahoada Weat Local Government Area and was at the scene when the fire started, said the petrol tanker, with registration number: Delta: XA 340 TDU, was moving the petrol from Port Harcourt to Warri.
Shadrack said a Toyota Corolla saloon car, with registration number Lagos: RQ 218 AAA that was heading for Port Harcourt, had a head-on collision with a Mazda bus moving towards Warri in Delta State. The registration number of the bus had either been removed or badly burnt, as at time The Nation got to the scene.
The witness noted that the Toyota Corolla was moving towards the tanker, after colliding with the bus, with the tanker driver attempting to avoid it, to reduce the fatality, thereby falling on its side, just beside the filling station.
A business man, Mr. Segun Oluwatuyi, who lives in Ahoada, rushed to the scene of the accident. He said the tanker was still steaming, as at the time of the fire.
Oluwatuyi said: “After the accident, the driver came out of the tanker and told the villagers and other people around not to move near the tanker, to avoid a disaster, and he immediately escaped.”
It was also gathered that after about 30 minutes, the villagers, comprising women, children, youths and elderly persons, came out and began to scoop the fuel, but within 10 minutes of scooping the petrol, fire started and burnt most of them. One of the dead was Fatai, who was selling phones at Okogbe.
The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Rivers State, Dr. Kayode Olagunju, who confirmed the incident, described it as very sad.
Olagunju, between 11:08 am and 2:38 pm, said: “There is a major fatal crash at Okogbe, about 11 kilometres from Ahoada-Mbiama, on East-West Road in Rivers State. The accident occurred around 06.30 hours.
“A tanker laden with petrol crashed with three other vehicles: a Toyota Corolla, Hummer Toyota bus and a Mitsibushi bus. 34 motorcycles also got burnt. People were scooping fuel from the tanker when it exploded.
“FRSC, police, Fire Service, Joint Task Force (JTF) opertaives are at the scene. Final casualty figures on the Okogbe tanker crash incident: 93 died on the spot (burnt), two died in hospital. 18 persons were injured.
“Rivers Health commissioner is not correct. The bodies are still at the scene. They were jointly counted by all the agencies, FRSC, NEMA, JTF, Police, Civil Defence and others involved in the rescue.
“Rivers Health commissioner was not there when the counting was being done. He only got to the scene and said they (corpses) could be up to 200 and he left. He did not wait for physical counting that we did.”
At 7:02 pm, the Rivers commander of FRSC, said: “Eighty seven corpses burnt beyond recognition, as a result of the crash involving a tanker and 3 other vehicles, were given mass burial at the scene of the crash at Okogbe along Ahoada-Mbiama on the East-West Road in Rivers State.
“Six of the bodies of the victims that died on the spot had earlier been identified and released to the families. Two of the 20 injured taken to the hospitals also died. A total of 95 persons died in the crash, with 18 others injured.”
Amaechi’s spokesman, David Iyofor, said: “The governor is utterly devastated and shattered by the tragic incident and the unfortunate loss of lives. Governor Amaechi had to cancel his official engagements in Abuja, to rush down to the scene of the incident.
“As we speak, the governor is waiting to board a flight to Port Harcout, so that he can visit the scene of this very tragic accident and console the families of the victims.”
Fire fighters from Port Harcourt arrived the scene at 12:02 pm, in an unmarked Mercedes Benz truck, with Ateco 1325 inscribed on it. They put out the fire.
Ahoada West Local Government Chairman Awori Miller, who rushed from a function in Port Harcourt, described the accident as “sad”, adding that lessons must be learnt from it.
The Chief Medical Director of Ahoada General Hospital, Dr. E. G. Kiri, was busy treating the victims.The Chief Nursing Officer, Mrs. E. Ebeku, said the first batch of 11 persons brought to the hospital had 100 degree burns, but were given first aid and moved to an undisclosed hospital in Port Harcourt.
The second batch of eight victims were also given first aid and moved to Port Harcourt. The third batch of 16 victims were being treated as at press time. They may be moved to Port Harcourt because of space constraint. In all, there were 35 persons, but more victims were being brought in. Two of the victims at the hospital died.
Personnel from neighbouring government hospitals were mobilised to Ahoada hospital to join the battle to save as many lives as possible.
The traditional ruler of Igbuya in Ekpeye Kingdom, near the scene of the accident, King Joshua Eziba, noted that if Fire Service men had arrived earlier, the casualty figure would have been less. Besides, he said, if the road had been fully dualised, the accident would not have happened.
The Councillor representing Ward 5 in Ahoada West Legislative Arm, Mr. Thompson Otobo, at the scene, said fire service stations should be located in all the Local Government Areas or senatorial districts.
Otobo said the people were not happy with the Federal Government over the slow pace of the dualisation of the East-West Road. The bad and narrow road caused the accident, according to him.
Another witness, Mr. Ede Christmas, an indigene of Okogbe, also said the bad road caused the accident.
