Gist
Tragic! Taxi driver died, 5 cars burnt in tanker explosion
-A taxi driver reportedly died in the explosion while 5 cars got burnt.
A petrol tanker exploded on Wednesday, along the Mbiama axis of East-West road in Rivers State, killing a taxi driver.
It was learnt that five vehicles were also burnt during the tragic incident, which caused heavy traffic, leaving commuters stranded along the East-West road.
It was recorded that three of the burnt vehicles were damaged beyond recognition while the two others were partially burnt.
The Bayelsa State Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Mr. Ikechukwu Igwe, reportedly deployed his officials in the area to ensure free-flow of traffic.
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Mr. Igwe, who visited the area yesterday morning, said only a taxi driver died in the incident and sympathised with persons whose vehicles were burnt.
He said instead of fleeing the scene after the tanker collapsed, the taxi driver, opened the bonnet of his vehicle and attempted to remove his battery.
“The driver just discharged fuel at Lionman Filling Station but as he was going out, the tanker fell.
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“The man decided to disconnect his vehicle’s battery and there was a spark because the remaining fuel from the tanker had spilled on the road.
The taxi man that died in the incident came out and discovered that there was no road because other drivers abandoned their vehicles and fled the area.
“The man decided to disconnect his vehicle’s battery and there was a spark because the remaining fuel from the tanker had spilled on the road.
“The spark caused the fire that killed the taxi driver and burnt five vehicles”.
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He, however, said the fire-fighters were able to put out the fire.
Mr. Igwe said his command was making an arrangement to bring a towing truck to remove the tanker that fell across the road.
