October 13, 2024

TNN Newspaper

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Ply With Caution, Fubara Urges Motorists As Rivers Tanker Explosion Kills Four, Destroys 70 Vehicles

3 min read

Edith CHUKU

Saddened by the gory fire incident that occurred around 8:5opm on Friday, the Rivers State governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has charged motorists to ply the road with caution.

Fubara gave this charge on Saturday when he visited the scene of the incident which occurred between Indorama Gate and Aleto Bridge on the popular and ever busy Eleme section of the East-West Road which is undergoing major reconstruction by the Federal Government. 

He described as very unfortunate the fire incident caused by a tanker conveying premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol which burnt motorists and commuters beyond recognition and destroyed a number of vehicles.

It was gathered that no fewer than five persons were burnt to death while about 70 vehicles were destroyed in the explosion.

The governor in a release by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Nelson Chukwudi, expressed his sadness at the gory sights that he saw when he visited the scene.

Fubara who was accompanied by the State Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, and the State Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources, Mr Uchechukwu Nwafor, explained that he got a call from the Managing Director of Indorama Petrochemical and Fertiliser Company Limited in Eleme Local Government Area, informing him of the incident.

At the news of the incident, the governor stated that he immediate routed a call to the security agencies and instructed that they visit the scene to take charge of the security of the area to avoid escalation of the situation. 

According to him, “We are here to see for ourselves and get a firsthand information of the incident of what happened yesterday(Friday) night. 

“About 7.30 – 8pm, we got information of the gravity of the incident. I was told that it was caused by a tanker vehicle that was conveying Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). 

“In fact, I got the information through the MD of Indorama, and I immediately alerted the security agencies to make sure they take control of the security situation in the area.

“And from what we are seeing this morning, it was not a pleasant case. We recorded a huge number of vehicles being destroyed and lives lost.”

The governor further explained that he had already requested the relevant government agencies to provide him a detailed account of their findings to enable the State Government take appropriate decisions and actions to significantly remedy the situation and reduce the negative on the affected people.

“I have already asked the relevant agencies to give us a full brief so that we can come into the situation fully by seeing to how much we can support the families that are bereaved, and also cushion the effect of the loses, which I believe, is no fault of a good number of them. 

“We all know the situation of this road. It is really unfortunate. Most of our people, when plying this road, should ply it with caution. 

“I believe very strongly that this situation would have been avoidable, if the motorists had behaved properly. But it is late already. The damage has happened. This is the situation we have found ourselves. We will see how we can control the aftermath.”

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