By Oluwatosin Maliki
A horrific tanker explosion has claimed the lives of 20 people on Sunday at the Koko junction along Warri – Benin Highway in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State.
Quest Times gathered that the explosion was as a result of a spark from a faulty vehicle.
It was learned that when the incident occurred some persons were just busy stealing the fuel that spilled from the tanker while it exploded. Among the dead people found at the scene was a pregnant woman, children, and some elderly persons.
An anonymous eye witness reported that the tanker transporting fuel, fell and spilled its content on the road while some persons quickly rushed to scoop the fuel in spite of all the warnings by drivers and security men who had arrived at the scene after they learnt the tanker had fallen.
The eyewitness said, “We tried to prevent them but the youths threatened to beat us up telling us it’s their community. They came in their numbers carrying all sorts of containers and when the explosion happened around 12:15 am this morning we all fled”.
An eye witness, Yusuf stated, “You can see dead bodies on the ground, some of them ran into the forest as I speak some dead bodies have been removed, I counted over 20 bodies”.
At the scene of the accident, some dead bodies were found on the ground burnt beyond recognition, also burnt vehicles including the exploded tanker.