Not lesser than 20 lives was lost in Ore, Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State on Sunday.
According to an eyewitness, the fire was ignited by a spark from a phone held by one of the persons who were scooping fuel.
The eyewitness stated that the victims of the disaster included three children and a pregnant woman who brought a sum of N100,000 to the scene to buy fuel.
The eyewitness said, “We were inside the church when the tanker fell and spilled its contents on the road. Shortly after it fell down and spilled the fuel on the road, some people rushed to the place the tanker feel and began scooping the spilled fuel.
Despite the fact that it was still raining at that time, people still rushed there and started scooping fuel then there was the fire outburst, caused by a spark from the phone of one those scooping fuel.
“At the scene, we have counted about three children and over 15 bodies we can’t identify, and also a pregnant woman that wanted to buy the fuel also died in the incident. They were burnt beyond recognition.”
When we contacted the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, she confirmed the incident and described the victims as fuel scoopers.
“They were scooping fuel from a tanker when the fire started. We have commenced an investigation into the matter,” the PPRO stated.
People need to learn that scooping fuel from a tanker is highly risky as their lives, the lives of others and residents around the environment could be badly affected.
Source: Punch
