About five persons were burnt to death while others were injured on Saturday in Moro local government area of Kwara State following a fire outbreak caused by spillage from a tanker loaded with petrol.
Sources claimed that the victims lost their lives to the incident, which occurred along the Ilorin-Jebba Road in Moro LGA of the state.
The sources said the incident occurred when the tanker fell over and emptied its inflammable content on the road.
“Some of the product found its way into a gutter which was later ignited from a fire of some residents cooking outside. Two children who went to fetch water were touched while returning and one died in the process and the second one is battling for his life at a hospital. A man defecating in the bush was also burnt and about three people who were still scooping the product when the tanker caught fire were also burnt to death.
“We only discovered their charred bodies the next day. But we have about five deaths while around seven people have been injured so far,” a source said.
When contacted, the spokesman of Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, confirmed the incident, adding that the fire was put out by the Fire Service of the Jebba Paper Mill.
“Several people were injured while some victims later died at the hospital. But I cannot put a figure to the casualties now,” Adekunle stated.
