Petrol Tanker Falls, Burns In Edo

A petrol tanker caught fire on Saturday night at the Ogheghe junction on Sapele Road after falling due to a bad spot on the road.

In a video that circulated on social media, a man was heard confirming that the incident happened at the Ogheghe junction by the byepass.

He noted that the tanker fell and caught fire while passers-by and residents of the area stayed away from the inferno.

When LEADERSHIP put a call through to the Edo State Fire Service’s operation room, a lady who gave her name as Faith said the service dispatched a fire fighting vehicle and personnel to the scene of the fire.

She, however, said that the gridlock and the unwillingness of motorists to create space for their vehicle caused their personnel to arrive late at the scene of the fire.

She noted that they got the information about the incident around 7pm and immediately sent their officers to the scene.

She said, “I can confirm that the incident happened. We were called about 7pm and we sent our officials and the fire-fighting equipment to the scene.

“It took them a while to get there as motorists did not create a passage for the vehicle to pass and get to the scene on time.

“This has been a major problem when it comes to getting to fire incident scenes. However, our people got a little bit late after 8pm.”

Our correspondent reports that Sapele Road, especially the Ogheghe axis, has become a death trap with big potholes impeding vehicular movement.