NIGERIA: A fuel tanker explosion along a major road in southern Nigeria kills one and injures several people

Record ID: 235901

  • Title: NIGERIA: A fuel tanker explosion along a major road in southern Nigeria kills one and injures several people
  • Date: 11th January 2013
  • Summary: BAYELSA, NIGERIA (JANUARY 11, 2012) (REUTERS) ***AUDIO AS INCOMING*** AMBULANCE ARRIVING AT SCENE VARIOUS OF FUEL TANKER ON FIRE PEOPLE CLEARING DEBRIS (SOUNDBITE) (Pidgin English) MUSA KASIMU, MECHANIC, SAYING: "My engine, my store and house, everything is burnt down by the fire and as you can see the fire service, they are just coming now to combat what? I will kill someone, if we see police or fire-fighters here." BUILDINGS ON FIRE PEOPLE LOOKING AT THE FIRE (SOUNDBITE) (Pidgin English) JEREMIAH DAVIDSON, RESIDENT IN BAYELSA, SAYING: "The cause, I believe is the carelessness of the tanker driver, because the information we heard, they said he was coming down the way and he hit a car and it was on that speed that on reaching here he lost control while trying to dodge a car coming opposite him that was when it fell." VARIOUS OF RESCUED PROPERTY (SOUNDBITE) (Pidgin English) DEBORAH MOSES, SHOP OWNER, SAYING: "My drinks, my soft drinks, everything that I'm selling are all gone even the items of my twin sister are all burnt, I just made a new purchase yesterday." VARIOUS OF BURNT CARS BURNT TRUCK (SOUNDBITE) (English) ALAGOA OJA, HEAD OF OPERATIONS, ROAD SAFETY, AHODA, SAYING: "The tanker is coming from Warri axis, naturally this a junction, and there is bound to be traffic as always, but he wasn't patient enough, so he tried to dodge a smaller car and it knocked it off the road. So a little patience would have helped, because all he needed is to be on the queue behind other vehicles before he can move..... but he was trying to dodge them and take another route, maybe going through the shorter one when he has full load with consignment which was very wrong and then he fell off the road and the fire started. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LOOKING
  • Embargoed: 26th January 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nigeria
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: Business,Accidents,Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVADC7HR886FPTLJIFBZJNWLTQQV
  • Story Text: One person was killed and several injured when a fuel tanker exploded in southern Nigeria on Friday (January 11).
    A kerosene loaded tanker crashed into another vehicle exploding instantly and destroying more than a dozen other vehicles and nearly 34 shops.
    The incident took place near a busy market, on a road linking two major cities, Bayelsa and Port-Harcourt.
    Angry residents said emergency arrived late.
    Musa Kasimu, a mechanic who owns a shop in the market, was distraught.
    "My engine, my store and house, everything is burnt down by the fire and as you can see the fire service, they are just coming now to combat what? I will kill someone, if we see police or fire-fighters here," Musa said.
    A 60-year-old widow who sold local gin in a makeshift stall by the road side lost her life.
    A mini park used by the members of the National Road and Transport Workers Union and several houses were also destroyed.
    Jeremiah Davidson, a local resident, blamed the driver of the tanker for reckless driving.
    "They said he was coming down the way and he hit a car and it was on that speed that on reaching here he lost control while trying to dodge a car coming opposite him that was when it fell," Jeremiah said.
    Another shop-owner Deborah Moses wept as she surveyed the loss of her property.
    "My drinks, my soft drinks, everything that I'm selling are all gone even the items of my twin sister are all burnt, I just made a new purchase yesterday," Moses said.
    A road safety official said preliminary investigation indicated driver was at fault and confirmed one person was killed in the accident.
    "A little patience would have helped, because all he needed is to be on the queue behind other vehicles before he can move..... but he was trying to dodge them and take another route," said Alagoa Oja, head of Road Safety operations in Ahoda community in Rivers state.
    This is the second of such incident in the Niger Delta in less than a year. In July 2012, about 95 people died after a petrol tanker exploded while trying to avoid a head-on collision with another vehicle.
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