…Gov. Fubara visits accident scene, describes it as tragic and sad

The Police Command in Rivers says four people and over 70 vehicles were burnt in Friday’s fuel tanker explosion in the state.

The explosion occurred along Eleme section of the East-West Road in the state at about 7:30 p.m.

SP Grace Iringe-Koko, spokesman of the command, told the newsmen in Port Harcourt on Saturday that the tragedy occurred following a collision between a heavy-duty truck and a petrol-laden tanker.

A correspondent who visited the accident scene reports that there were severely burnt vehicles and charred bodies of victims on the road.

The incident happened a few meters from the Indorama Petrochemical Company and roughly 10 kilometres from the Port Harcourt Refinery.

There was an extensive gridlock stretching over five kilometres on the road under reconstruction as part of the N200 billion Ring Road project by the Rivers Government.

State government trucks, accompanied by police and Federal Road  Safety Commission officials, were seen evacuating the burnt vehicles to facilitate traffic flow.

An eyewitness, Onyeka Ubani, who narrowly escaped the explosion, stated that while transporting passengers on his newly acquired tricycle (Keke), they heard a deafening sound ahead of them.

“The loud sound was followed by a massive fireball, causing everyone to flee for safety.

“We managed to escape, but unfortunately, my Keke caught fire in the process.

“I thank God for my life, but I am at a loss about what to do with my life now, having recently purchased this Keke,” a distraught Ubani said.

Another eyewitness, David Jumbo, said that he was returning home from work around the Akpajo axis of the East-west Road when the incident occurred.

He narrated that after the explosion, vehicles and victims were caught by fire which stretched over 200 metres.

“It happened so quickly that it could be likened to scenes from Hollywood movies.

“While I was fleeing for safety, I saw a pregnant woman struggling to exit one of the commercial vehicles.

“Unfortunately, when I returned this morning, I found the deceased pregnant woman trapped in the bus as she tried to escape,” he recounted.

Jumbo attributed the accident to the recklessness of truck drivers who disregarded road warnings despite the ongoing road construction.

Gov. Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers, who visited the accident scene, described it as tragic and sad.

He urged motorists to always exercise caution while on the road.

“This incident is not a pleasant one, we recorded a huge number of vehicles destroyed and lives lost.

“I have already asked the relevant agencies to brief us on how we can support the bereaved families to mitigate their losses.

“This incident would have been avoided if the motorists had adhered to proper conduct. People should ply this road with caution,” Fubara said. 

Sixteen would-be migrants have died and another 28 are missing after a boat carrying 77 people capsized off the coast of Djibouti, the second such incident in two weeks, the United Nations migration agency said on Tuesday.

The boat’s occupants included children, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said in a post on social media platform X.

It said its Djiboutian office was helping with rescue efforts.

Two weeks ago, the United Nations migration agency reported that 38 people, including children, died in another shipwreck off the Djibouti coast.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said at least six other people were missing and presumed dead, and that 22 survivors were being assisted by the IOM and local authorities.

Yvonne Ndege, regional spokesperson for the IOM, said the shipwreck happened about 200 metres off Djibouti and that the boat carrying the migrants had left Yemen around 2 a.m. local time on April 8.

It sank about two hours later with around 66 people on board, predominantly from the Horn of Africa region.

They were believed to be mostly Ethiopian nationals, she said.

“Every year tens of thousands of migrants leave the Horn of Africa, mainly from Ethiopia and Somalia trying to reach the Gulf nations,” Ndege said.

“(But) thousands are stuck in Yemen. It’s rational to conclude that the group of migrants who perished in this tragedy was trying to return to Djibouti to buy time and try again later or return home.” 

– Reuters

…As 4 die, and 8 injured in two accidents on Ogun highways

No fewer than 11 persons lost their lives while 16 others were injured, with one person rescued unhurt in an auto crash at Gaya junction along the Kano – Maiduguri road.

The Kano State FRSC Sector Commander, Ibrahim Sallau-Abdullahi, disclosed this in a statement issued by the Connand’s spokesperson, Abdullahi Labaran, on Saturday in Kano.

He said that the accident involved two vehicles, a Toyota Hummer bus, with registration number KTG 190 XB and a Hijet mini pick-up, with registration number KTG 501 YG.

“We received a call at about 03:45 p.m. on April 19, 2024. On receiving the information, we quickly dispatched our personnel and vehicle to the scene of the incident to rescue the victims at 03:55 p.m.,” Abdullahi.

The sector commander said that the accident occurred as a result of speeding and loss of control, which led to a head-on collision as two vehicles burst into flames immediately.

“The accident involved a total of 28 passengers in the two vehicles, out of which 11 lost their lives while 16 others sustained serious injuries, and one rescued unhurt.

“The injured were taken to Gaya General Hospital for urgent medical treatment, while the corpses were respectfully laid to rest in a mass burial ceremony”, Abdullahi said.

The sector commander, who lamented the occurrence of the incident, emphasized the importance of compliance with road safety rules and regulations.

He urged drivers to refrain from committing traffic offences such as speed violations and overloading of vehicles with passengers, animals or goods.

Abdullahi also advised commercial drivers to install speed limit devices on their vehicles to avoid crashes resulting from speed limit violations.

He said that the command was committed to ensuring the safety of road users, vowing,” We will intensify efforts to enforce traffic regulations to prevent similar incidents in the future.” 

 In another development, two persons died while three others were injured in an auto crash on the Ijebu Ode-Ore Road on Friday.

On Saturday, two persons died while five others were injured in another auto crash on the Ogun side of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

Spokesperson of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Ogun, Mrs Florence Okpe, stated in Abeokuta on Saturday that one of the corpses of Friday’s accident was handed over to its family.

The second corpse was deposited at the morgue of a hospital Ijebu-Ode where the injured were taken, she stated.

She added that Saturday’s crash on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was a lone accident caused by excessive over-speeding by the driver of the Toyota car which somersaulted.

“The accident claimed the lives of a woman and a female child.

“Seven persons were involved in the lone crash in which five persons sustained injuries,’’ Okpe stated.

The injured victims were taken to a hospital in Sagamu while the deceased were deposited at the morgue of the same hospital.