ONITSHA - Residents of Onitsha, the commercial hub of
Anambra State on Tuesday January 28, 2020 were thrown into panic as yet another
petrol tanker ladened with petroleum products fell at Upper Iweka, the busiest
and the most crowded area in Onitsha city centre. Having been aware of the
disaster that usually accompanied such incident, many people were seen running
helter-skelter to keep away from the spot just before it could explode.
It is barely four months that heavy casualties were
recorded at Upper-Iweka in last October of 2019 at the same spot in Upper-Iweka
when a petrol tanker fell into the gutter and burst into flames leaving many
people dead and countless others injured with many businesses razed to the
ground that same incident happened again on Tuesday 28:01:20 at around 3:45pm.
Both ends of the major lane where the petrol tanker fell
was cordoned off with heavy blockade by men of the Nigerian police force who
were at the venue when our correspondence got there to protect the fire fighters
and the driver of the truck as well as to maintain law and order. This caused
heavy traffic since both the adjacent lanes at the opposite direction were
sealed off leaving only the service lane to be accessible by motorists.
Many news agencies and various correspondences were also
at the venue and were taking pictures and videos of the incident whereas the
members of Anambra Fire Service were standing by and were ready for any
eventuality of fire outbreak as a result of probable explosion.
Unlike the previous one that took place in October of
last year, the fire fighters then were nowhere to be found until the disaster
had wreaked havoc leaving many businesses destroyed before they came only to be
pelted with stones and other objects by angry mob. But this time around it
appears they have learnt their lessons and have taken some proactive measure to
act before a disaster occurs.
Nevertheless, the protection of lives and properties of
the citizenry especially the tax payers is the sole responsibility of the
government who must as a matter of urgency create an avenue to put a permanent
stop to this incessant petrol tanker mishap by either banning all the petrol
tanker and lorry drivers from using the major roads especially during the day
time or to build a separate lane for them if they must operate during the day
time across the crowded city centres in
Biafra land, this is because in recent
times, many lives and businesses has
been destroyed in the Southeastern part of the country as a result of fire
outbreak which usually by caused by petrol tanker explosion in most cases, in
crowded areas such as Upper-Iweka and near market places across the Southeast
of the country.
Reported by:
Princewill Akubumma
For: Anambra State Media
Edited by:
Ngozichukwu Ada-Dav
For: Anambra State Media
Published by:
Chibuike John Nebeokike
For: Anambra State Media
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