State sector commander for the commission Kayode Olagunju told reporters in Port Harcourt, the state capital that 89 of the 95 persons who died in the petrol tanker explosion were given a mass burial at Okobe village in the Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State.
They were buried on Thursday evening.
The Sector Commander for the Rivers State Command of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Dr. Kayode Olagunju, stated this in a post on Facebook at 8.02p.m.
The incident occurred while some villagers were allegedly scooping fuel after the tanker was involved in a crash with three other vehicles.
He stated that 95 persons died in the incident, of which 87 bodies were burnt beyond recognition.
The FRSc chief listed the vehicles involved in the crash as the tanker, a Toyota Corolla car, Toyota Hiace bus and a Maza bus.
A total of 34 motorcycles were also involved in the crash and were consumed by the inferno along with the Mazda bus.
Large excavators were brought to the site on a major inter-state highway to dig a mass grave for victims whose bodies were too badly damaged to be transported or recognised. "They couldn't be moved," Semenitari said, putting the number of those already buried at more than 85.
Some of those being treated at the hospital were also burned beyond recognition, said Geoffrey Ikogha, a local chief in Ahoada, near the oil hub of Port Harcourt.
Children were among those killed, while dozens more were badly burned, despite a warning from troops who arrived at the crash site that a blaze could ignite at any moment.
Given the severity of the burns suffered by some at the hospital, the toll could yet increase, Semenitari told AFP. "There is a chance that we could lose 10 to 15 more... medically, they are in a bad state," she said.
The number of family and friends at the General Hospital in Ahoada was huge, with many sobbing uncontrollably. "Security people are having a tough time controlling the surging crowd," said Ikogha. "The situation is tragic and pathetic."
Many of the dead were motorcycle taxi operators, known locally as "Okada", who raced to fill up their tanks after learning of the crash, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.
He noted that of the 20 injured victims rushed to the hospital, two died. Olagunju also said the bodies of six of the victims who died on the spot were earlier released to their families.
His statement reads, “87 corpses burnt beyond recognition as a result of the crash involving a tanker and three other vehicles were this evening given mass burial at the scene of the crash at Okobe along Ahoada – Mbiama on the East – West Road in Rivers State. “Six of the bodies of the victims that died on the spot had earlier been identified and released to their families.
Two of the 20 injured victims taken to the hospital also died. “A total of 95 persons died in the crash with 18 others injured. “The vehicles involved were a Toyota Corolla cr with registration number RQ 218 AAA; Toyota Hiace XZ 613 AGL; and a tanker XA 340 TDU.
One Mazda bus adn 34 motor bikes were burnt beyond recognition.”
Friday 13 July 2012
http://www.punchng.com/news/dead-victims-of-rivers-tanker-fire-given-mass-burial/
http://news.ph.msn.com/top-stories/nigeria-oil-tanker-fire-kills-more-than-116
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