At least two persons reportedly lost their lives and scores sustained various degrees of injuries in a fire incident resulting from a patrol tanker on Tuesday at Omerelu Community in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
A truck laden with petroleum product had veered off the road and rammed into a stationary vehicle by the road and exploded.
It was gathered that the incident ignited fire, which razed both vehicles and building within the vicinity of the incident.
Witnesses said that the two occupants of the vehicle were burned to dead, while others who escaped the scene were badly burnt.
It was alleged that the driver of the truck conveying the petroleum product tried to avoid extortion by some security operatives on the Port Harcourt-Owerri Road before it veered off the road.
A man in the area, Henry Ezeorgu, who witnessed the incident, noted that the incident happened around 6:00am, Tuesday.
“This morning, a truck loaded with a petroleum product was moving towards Imo State when some security people that wanted to collect money from them chased the truck.
“The truck driver, while trying to escape, lost control and hit a parked truck. The accident caused fire. Two people, who were in the truck were burnt to death while others sustained serious fire burns,” he said.
He disclosed that the local government authority was alerted of the development, adding that the Chief of Staff to the Council Chairman, Darlington Orji, visited the scene for assessment.
