Petrol tanker crashes on Abuja-Lokoja express way, death toll said to be five

Five persons were burnt to death after a petrol tanker crashed and went up in flames on Wednesday evening at Gada-Biyu village, on Abuja-Lokoja express way.

It was gathered that the tanker with registration number NCH 220 XB lost control and rammed into two other vehicles.

A witness simply identified as Yunusa, said the incident happened at about 5:07p.m. When the tanker, coming from Lokoja axis, lost control and rammed into a Golf car with registration number BAS 304 AA and a Mitsubishi Dynna bus with registration number LSD 804 XQ.

He said the tanker crashed on the Golf car, in which five people were trapped and burnt beyond recognition.

“But the tanker driver and his conductor, including the driver of the Dynna truck were able to escape before the fire went beyond control,” he said

He said the burnt corpses were later evacuated by men of the Abaji unit command of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

Before arrival of fire fighters from Abaji, the fire from the tanker was raving.

It was reported that due to the commotion cause by the tanker crash, two persons were also injured in another accident that occurred at the same scene, after a Mercedes Benz truck with registration number KUJ 273 XA. The driver and a passenger who sustained serious injuries were taken to hospital by the rescue team of the FRSC.

When contacted, the Abaji unit commander of the FRSC, Assistant Corps Commander, Olasupo A. Esuruoso, confirmed the incidents. He attributed the accidents to over speeding, saying the five burnt corpses have been deposited at Abaji General Hospital mortuary.