Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, has identified the cause of the weekend fire disaster which claimed five persons including a pregnant woman, and over 120 vehicles along the Indorama-Eleme section of the East-West Road in Rivers State.
The Rivers Sector Commander, FRSC, Chris Kuje, said preliminary investigations revealed that the tragedy was caused by two tanker drivers, who were jostling for space on the deplorable Aleto-Eleme section of the road.
Kuje explained that during the struggle, the trucks collided sideways and caused a rupture in the trailer of one truck laden with premium motor spirit commonly known as petrol.
According to him, the inflammable product spilt from the ruptured part and ignited the inferno that claimed lives and consumed properties worth billions of Naira.
He said, “Preliminary investigation revealed that the incident happened on the Eleme East-West Road which is currently under renovation.
“Two truck drivers were jostling for space when their vehicles collided sideways, causing a rupture in the trailer of one truck carrying petroleum which resulted in petrol leaking onto the road and igniting into fire explosion.”
The Rivers FRSC Commander further said personnel of of the Corps deployed in the scene controlled traffic and created diversion through Oyigbo as alternative route to ease congestion.
He noted that following the directive of the governor, the Corps mobilised Indorama Petrochemical, which provided cranes that successfully removed all the trucks from the road on Saturday.
“We met the directive of the Governor of Rivers State to ensure that the road is freed for movement before the close of the day.
“We mobilised Indorama Petrochemicals to provide a crane that successfully removed all the trucks from the road at about 5:30pm. The carcasses were also evacuated away by low bed trucks provided by the same company.
“Staff from three Commands namely RS6.1 (Rivers sector), RS6.11 (Eleme Unit Command) and RS6.16 (Obio/Akpor Unit Command) were mobilized to the scene for effective traffic management. Vehicular movement has fully restored by removing all obstructions.”
This article was originally posted at sweetcrudereports.com
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