Esther Salifu
Few persons injured as tanker suspected to be conveying Liquefied Natural Gas exploded at Obiri-Ikwerre flyover , Port Harcourt .
The tanker fell while trying to pass the bypass at the flyover and immediately went up in flames at around 9:25 am on Tuesday.
An eye witness identified as Lucky revealed that the sound of the explosion caused fear, as it spread to residential areas near the flyover.
He said, “It was about past 9 am that I was driving towards the University of Port Harcourt that I saw the flames.
“I quickly made a U-turn because I was driving. Many vehicles started making a detour to avoid the scene of the fire, somewhere even videoing the fire with their phones.”.
The spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, revealed in a statement that the number of casualties is three.
” They were all in the vehicle near the scene of the explosion. The state Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, the Divisional Police Officer and myself were at the scene of the unfortunate incident.
“The fire has been put out by firefighters. We (the police) have launched an investigation into the incident.”
Another eye witness stated that, “My office is just close by here. It was a terrible sight. Two persons inside a salon car parked nearby were burnt beyond recognition.
“The tanker was trying to negotiate through the flyover when it fell and the explosion occurred.
The Obiri-Kwere flyover leads to the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa in the Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state.
