Tanker fire kills pregnant woman, three others in Onitsha

A pregnant woman was among four people feared dead in a fire disaster caused by petrol tanker which somersaulted and exploded on the New Auto Spare Parts Market Flyover, Nkpor, near Onitsha, Anambra State. About 20 people also sustained various degrees of injuries.

The fire also affected the nearby Nkpor Main Market where it consumed thousands of livestock, tubers of yams, clothing and several other items worth millions of naira.

An eyewitness told Vanguard that the fire had razed a great portion of the market before the arrival of the fire service men that were able to prevent it from spreading and consuming more shops.

The driver of the ill-fated tanker could not be located among the huge crowd that thronged the accident scene. The situation created a traffic gridlock from Nkpor to Onitsha and Nkpor to Ogidi even as men of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Anambra State Traffic Agency (ASTA) Police and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC) were all mobilized to the scene.

The Director of Operations of the fire service, Ikechukwu Nzegwu, disclosed that casualties had been rushed to hospitals for medical attention, but the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, at Ogidi, Mr. Musa, who also confirmed the incident, told the newspaper that he was not yet aware of any death casualty but added that those who sustained injuries had been rushed to Onitsha and St. Charles Borromeo hospitals for medical attention.