*Mother, Child, Five Others Die In Inferno
BY GODWIN IJEDIOGOR
DELTA State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, has commiserated with Ometan community in Okpe Local Council over the death of seven indigenes of the community to a tanker fire accident on Friday morning, May 3.
An eyewitnesses said the accident occurred around 10am when the tanker, laden with fuel, fell on the road after the tanker head detached while on motion in Ometan community along the Warri- Sapele Road.
No fewer than eight persons, including a mother and her three-year-old child, died in the accident. The mother was said to have been trapped in the raging fire as she tried to rescue her child, while another victim, a secondary school boy, had just returned from school shortly before the explosion.
The head of the tanker, which was coming from Effurun axis, suddenly detached from the rear part while on motion, thereby losing control as it tried to overtake another truck in Ometan community, shortly after Aziza Junction on the Warri-Sapele road, a few metres away from the boundary bridge between Uvwie and Okpe Councils.
All buildings within the vicinity were razed, with some residents trapped in the building also burnt to death beyond recognition and many others sustaining varied degrees of injuries and hospitalised, according to eyewitnesses.
The incident also impacted some other buildings, vehicles and heavy-duty trucks.
Speaking at the accident scene, Oborevwori, accompanied by Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Emomotimi Guwor, and former chairman of Okpe Local Council, Isaiah Esiovwa, empathised with the community, saying: “I was just coming from the creeks where I went to inspect projects and there was no network, so immediately I arrived the Navy Jetty and received a message from the Head of Personnel Management of Okpe Local Council informing me of the sad incident.
“On getting here, I saw bodies and those who witnessed the unfortunate incident said the tanker had an accident and exploded, which led to the fire explosion.
“It is a very sad situation and I commiserate with the people of Ometan community and families of those who lost their lives in this unfortunate incident.”
