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By Young E. Freeborn, Warri
Over thirty houses and properties worth millions of naira were recently razed to the ground by an early morning inferno in Ohoror community, Uwheru kingdom in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.
Eyewitnesses said tankers conveying petroleum products exploded as a result of a road accident along the East-West federal road that cuts across the community, sparking the inferno that has brought the community to its knees.
One of the victims, who gave his name as Mr. Clement Sapele, told our correspondent that, “The accident happened around 2am. We only heard the noise and rushed out. What we saw was flames of fire rolling down from the road to the community.
“As you can see, this is my house. It was completely raised down. We couldn’t pick anything from the house except these our night wears we put on. The first thing I did was to rescue my wife and children and other members of my family that are living here with me. As it’s now, we are homeless and also in nakedness. As you can see, half of the community is badly affected by the fire.”
Mr. Clement Sapele however called on the federal and the Delta State governments to immediately come to their aid and give them the needed support as according to him, over thirty families were thrown into penury and hardship for losing all, their houses, properties and places of business.
Also speaking with our correspondent, one of the tanker drivers who refused to give his name described how the accident occurred.
He said, “As you can see, this community is a kind of resting place for us, tankers and trailers drivers. We usually pack here, eat and relax at any time of the day. So the community is always a busy place both in the day and in the night. We parked by the side of the road.
“At around 2am, this particular tanker was coming and it carried PMS, while another truck carrying granite was also coming on this same lane. The truck with the granite was overtaking the tanker, and its bucket with the load struck and hooked the back of the tanker. This collusion led to explosion which now affected the other two tankers packed by the side of the road. As it happened, the one carrying PMS fell and its contents spilled into the community. This led to the burning of the community,” he said.
Ohoror community chairman who also spoke under condition of anonymity, appealed to the state government to immediately come to the aid of the victims of the inferno especially those that were rendered homeless and are now without shelter.
Hear him: “It’s quite disheartening and painful that over thirty families are thrown into homeless, jobless and total penury and hardship in my community. At least, you can see for yourselves. You can see the level of damage and destruction done to the community as a result of this accident. I have nothing to do for now. This is why I’m calling on our listening governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa and the federal government to immediately come to our aid. The victims need shelter and also food to comfort them. They are now in serious trauma. We need help from the government now.”
However, as at the time of filing this report, two persons were seen burnt in one of the tankers which may likely be the drivers. But all efforts to speak to the Delta State police public relations officer, Mr. Bright Edafe on the accident proved abortive.
