Over 50 persons burned to ashes scooping fuel as tanker explodes

An unconfirmed number of persons were burnt to death, while many were injured while scooping fuel from a fallen tanker at Okobe in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers early on Thursday, the state’s police authorities have confirmed.
“As I speak to you, we do not know the number or extent of casualties at the scene,’’ said Ben Ugwuegbulam, spokesman of the Rivers Police Command, adding that a team of police officers and other security agents had been dispatched to the scene.
“We have cordoned off the area to ensure that miscreants do not take laws into their hands. We also want to know what exactly caused the inferno,’’ he said.
According to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), the petrol-carrying tanker crashed with three other vehicles, 11 km from Ahoada-Mbiama on the east-west road in Rivers.
It was gathered that the vehicle did not immediately burst into flames, and as a result, people scrambled for free fuel.
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