Another fire tragedy reminiscent of the Jesse pipeline fire disaster of yester-years befell the nation on October 18, 1998. In the similar fuel burst and scooping factor, no fewer than ninety-two persons avoidably died at Okogbe Community in Ahoada West Local Council of Rivers State.
It was gathered that the tragic incident occurred at about 7.30 a.m. yesterday when a tanker loaded with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) while trying to avoid an oncoming Toyota Corolla at a bad section of the East-West Road suddenly lost control, fell down and spewed its content which volume reached waist level and flowed like a stream.
The news of the accident spread quickly through the community and the people immediately thronged the scene with jerry cans and started scooping the spilled product. Amidst this, fire was suddenly ignited and engulfed those present.
However, on October 18, 1998, a pipeline explosion occurred in Jesse Community of Ethiope-West Local Council of Delta State.
The cause of the blast continued to be a source of controversy. While the Federal Government blamed the explosion on scavengers who intentionally ruptured the pipeline with their tools and ignited the blaze, other reports blamed the explosion on poorly maintained pipelines.
One of the pipes had burst and the local people gathered to collect spilled petrol from the oil pipeline.
The spilled petrol flowed in the farm and in Ethiope River. People going to their farms discovered that they were wading in petrol and not in water. There was a rush to fetch the petrol from the farm and the floating petrol in the river. No one is certain how the fire was ignited.
But in spite of the arguments, over 1,000 people died in the blast, which is considered the worst pipeline explosion in Nigeria. It took the intervention of a fire-fighting company from the United States, with a nitrogen-rich foam, to extinguish the blaze on October 23.
Located in the Niger Delta, the pipeline owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), served as a link between Warri Refinery and Kaduna Refinery.
The death toll continued to rise weeks after the explosion, as many died of injuries in the hospitals. Many were burnt beyond recognition and were buried in a mass grave.
Speaking with journalists at the Ahoada General Hospital in Ahoada, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sampson Parker, said he counted 200 corpses.
His words: “I will describe this as the single worst incident that has happened to Rivers State since the Civil War. It is even worse than the Sosoliso crash we experienced before now. It’s quite a pity.
“The situation would have been saved if they didn’t go there because when the accident happened, there was no fire. The fire, as I heard, started when they started scooping fuel. So, the situation would have been saved if people didn’t go there to scoop fuel.
“As far as I am concerned, this is a national disaster. I don’t think anything like this has happened even in the areas where we are hearing of bomb blasts, Boko Haram or plane crashes. I think this is the worst single disaster that has happened to Nigeria, I don’t know which other one because the corpses I counted alone, those ones that are there alone are over 200 littered about and they have not finished counting. Cremation is what we see at the site, some people are burnt to ashes, so, how many can you count? Look at the number that have been taken to several hospitals.”
But the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Rivers State, Dr. Kayode Olagunju, said 93 persons died.
He said: “There is a major fatal crash at Okogbe about 11 kilometres from Ahoada-Mbiama on the East-West Road, Rivers State. The accident occurred around 06.30 hrs. A tanker laden with petrol crashed with three other vehicles: A Toyota Corolla, Hummer bus and a Mitsubishi bus. Thirty-four motorcycles also got burnt. People were scooping fuel from the fell tanker when the tanker exploded. The FRSC, police, fire service, JTF are at the scene.
“Final casualty figures on the Okogbe tanker crash incident: 93 died on the spot (burnt), two died in hospital. 18 persons were injured.”
Eyewitnesses said over ninety-two persons were consumed by the inferno. About twenty persons were said to have been rescued and rushed to a hospital.
A brother of a victim, Mr. Mike Uchechi, lamented that it was the deplorable state of the road that caused the tanker accident, which led to the death of about 100 persons.
He said it was disheartening that the Federal Government has not completed the East-West Road since its inception.
Hundreds of sympathisers were sighted at the scene, including the Civil Defence, Joint Military Task Force, public health officers, state emergency officials, local council agencies and the police.
A sympathiser at the scene, Mrs. Joan Osoh, said she was going to a ceremony but could no longer proceed due to the incidence.
She asked: “How much fuel were they taking that could be compared to their lives? People should learn to resist temptation of quick money and be contented with what they have.”
Osoh, however, contended that the abject poverty in the country may have forced some people into such incidents and advised government at all levels to provide employment opportunities to avert similar incidents.
The South-South Zonal Co-ordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Umesi Emenike, while speaking at the scene, noted that the tragedy could have been avoided if the people had controlled their urge for quick money.
He disclosed that the spilled fuel was flowing like a stream, adding that it got to the hip level of the victims, which according to him, was a clear sign of danger.
“This is becoming a re-occurring event in Nigeria. People by now should be able to identify fire, danger around them and resist the temptation of being victims.
The spilled fuel was like a stream. It got to the hips of the victims who were scooping the fuel, and lack of self-control contributed majorly to this.”
He, however, urged the state government to decentralise the fire service to enable it attend promptly to similar incidents and reduce the level of casualties.
“Government should ensure the implementation of the decentralisation policy of fire service to reduce the number of casualties in similar incidences because the fire serviceman coming from the state capital before he gets here, the damages were done, though there is fire service in Ahoada but there are no trucks; there is need to decentralise fire service.”
Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ben Ugwulegbu, said the force was still working to get the exact figure of the casualties.
“Early this morning, a tanker loaded with petrol fell in Okogbe and people trooped to the scene obviously to scoop the spilled fuel and suddenly there was fire resulting in casualties,” Rivers State police spokesman, Ben Ugwuegbulam, told Reuters.
Ugwuegbulam said it was too early to give a casualty figure but a Reuters witness at the scene counted 92 dead bodies of men, women and children.
Hundreds of people crowded around as soldiers and emergency workers lifted bodies into ambulances and police trucks. The fuel tanker was a pile of smouldering ash, twisted metal and melting tyres.
Crashes are common on Nigeria’s pot-holed and poorly maintained roads, and in a region where most people live on less than $2 a day, the chance to collect spilling petrol is too much of a temptation, despite the high risk of fires.
The East-West Road, which runs across the oil-producing region, has been scheduled for development for almost a decade and money is allocated for it in the budget each year.
Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, is plagued by corruption and inefficiency. Most years, only about half budgeted programmes are implemented.
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday expressed deep sadness over the loss of many lives caused by the explosion resulting from the leakage of fuel from a fallen tanker at Okogbe, Rivers State.
He, therefore, directed federal relief and health agencies to do everything possible to ensure that all those who survived the explosion with burns and injuries receive prompt and effective medical attention.
In a statement by his spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, the President expressed particular distraught by the fact that once again, so many Nigerian lives have been lost in an avoidable fuel fire disaster.
It added: “The President conveys his sincerest condolences to the families of the victims, and the government and people of Rivers State.”
Governor Chibuike Amaechi is utterly devastated by incident and the unfortunate loss of lives, according to his spokesman, David Iyofor.
“Governor Amaechi has to cancel his official engagements in Abuja to rush down to the scene. As we speak, the governor is waiting to board a flight to Port Harcourt so that he can visit the scene of this very tragic accident and console the families of the victims.” Iyofor said.
Some sources maintain the belief that the explosion was caused by a phone call from one of the victims inviting a friend to come and join in the spree.
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