FIRE CONSUMES ONE LIFE, 13 LUXURY BUSES IN ANAMBRA

Reporter : UCHE NDEKE

One life has been lost, thirteen luxury buses burnt and other property worth millions of naira destroyed at New Tarzan Junction, Ogidi near Onitsha Anambra State . The incident, which occurred at about 4pm on Sunday, led to chaos as residents and motorists scampered for safety.

An eye witness told our correspondent that a tanker laden with petroleum product was parked by the road side when another trailer hit it from the back, leading to spillage of content. According to the eyewitness, who didn’t want mention his name, some residents were scooping the content from drainage when fire was ignited and started burnt the entire area.

Speaking with Radio Nigeria, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Tochukwu Ikenga, said one life was lost in the incident apart from the 13 Luxury buses, belonging to a mass transit company.

He, however, said that security agents were mobilized and the entire area cordoned off to avoid hoodlums taking advantage of the situation to loot property.

Radio Nigeria Radio Nigeria gathered that the prompt response of the state fire service prevented the fire from escalating to several houses and shops located around the scene of the incident.

In an interview, the Managing Director ,  Anambra State Fire Service, Mr. Martin Agbili, said five fire trucks were deployed to the scene as soon as they were contacted by the people.

Mr. Agbili, who said a proper investigation would still be conducted, expressed regret that all advice and warnings issued by relevant government agencies on safety precautions, including parking vehicles on the highways, were most times not adhered to by some members of the public.