One injured as petrol tanker, tipper crash in Enugu

The Federal Road Safety Corps has said that the timely intervention of emergency safety agencies in Enugu saved what would have been another petrol tanker tragedy on Monday when a tanker carrying premium motor spirit collided with a tipper truck.

The accident occurred at the troubled Ugwu Onyeama along the Enugu-Onitsha Federal Highway, a development coming barely two months after a tanker accident that claimed scores in late January.

Enugu Sector Commander, Mr Franklin Agbakoba, disclosed this in a telephone interview on Monday evening, saying the accident involved a fully loaded petrol tanker and a tipper truck.

Agbakoba thanked God that what would have been yet another disaster was averted following the timely intervention of the FRSC, State Fire Service and the police.

He, however, revealed that only one person was injured in the accident, even though he didn’t disclose the cause of the accident, as he noted that his team and other emergency agencies were still at the scene to ward off people from coming to scoop the fuel.

He said, “Of course there was a crash there (Ugwu Onyeama) involving a tanker and a tipper; yes, there was. One person was injured, but there was no fire outbreak. We were timely with fire service and, of course, police, and we were able to prevent people that attempted to scoop the fuel.

“We have to block the road and divert traffic to the other lane. As we speak, now the road is still diverted; we are waiting for a tanker to come transload the product.”

Our correspondent gathered that the fuel tanker accident occurred along the Ugwu Onyeama Expressway, near a Compressed Natural Gas station, causing concern among motorists and travellers.

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