The Federal Road Safety Corps has confirmed that 12 corpses have been recovered from the scene of the tanker explosion that rocked Oshigbudu community in the Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State on Sunday.
Over 100 houses have been razed, scores killed and many declared missing after the tanker conveying petroleum product exploded.
An eyewitness in the area told the media that the tanker laden with petrol was travelling from Oweto and heading towards Otukpo when the driver lost control of the truck and it fell over spilling its content at the Oshigbudu/Obagaji junction.
According to him “the whole thing happened suddenly and when the truck fell, the petrol spilt into people’s house and a nearby petrol station and there was a huge explosion.
“Many houses are presently on fire and most of those living in those houses did not escape because of the manner the accident happened,” he said.
The Sector Commander, FRSC, Yakubu Mohammed, who gave the figure, added that the casualty number might increase because many people were caught up in the explosion.
He said, “The corpses of eight male, three female and one male child were recovered.
“The number may be more, because some houses were gutted by fire and there were people inside.”
Meanwhile, the Vice Chairman of the local government council, John Ikwulono, who confirmed the incident, also said that many people might have lost their lives.
He stated, “At the moment, we cannot ascertain the number of dead victims now; this thing (tanker explosion) happened at the Ubagaji/Oshigbudu junction.
“The tanker was laden with fuel and fell down at that junction and the fuel gushed out of the tanker and spread to a nearby fuel station towards Oweto and the filling station caught fire and several houses around the area got burnt.
“People, who were not able to escape, also suffered burns; the fire is still burning; it is a very terrible thing.”
Ikwulono said the situation was compounded by absence of a fire service station in the local government.
“There is no fire service station in Agatu and the only one we have in the entire senatorial district is in Otukpo, which is about one hour drive to Oshigbudu, and when we contacted them, they said their vehicle had broken down,” he stated.
Ikwulono said the people had to resort to using water and detergent to extinguish the inferno, adding, “The damage has already been done.”
Executive Secretary of the Benue State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Emmanuel Shior, however, conveyed the condolences of the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom who he said, has directed for a comprehensive audit of the fire incident.
He also commiserated with those who lost their loved ones and properties to the fire.
Commissioner for Youths and Sports and an indigene of the area, Ojotu Ojeme, stated in a Facebook post: “The fire inferno…is the chief of all the calamities that have fallen us this year.
“As I pray God to comfort the good people of Agatu and most especially those directly involved, over the loss, I wish to call on government at all levels and spirited individuals to come to our aid to drastically reduce the effect of the disaster on the people. Once again may God grant us the fortitude to bear the huge loss.”