A tanker conveying over 11,000 litres of fuel (petrol) has crashed along the Calabar-Biase highway in Cross River state.
An eyewitness told Daily Post that the incident occurred on Wednesday at about 3pm long Abini town in Biase local government area of Cross River State.
He said the vehicle was coming from Calabar with the product and heading to Biase when it slipped on a bad portion of the road.
According to him, “The driver of the truck could not identify the bad portion of the road given the heavy downpour on that day.
“Shortly after the incident occurred, the residents in the area rushed with empty rubbers, buckets and other available containers to scoop the fuel that came out of the truck.
“In fact, the truck swayed into the bush and the residents couldn’t think of the danger that the truck posed, neither did they care whether the driver was alive or not,” he stated.
However, similar incident occurred along Ugep-Alesi road opposite Institute of Technology and Management, (ITM) in Ugep, where an NNPC truck conveying fuel crashed into a tree.
“This is the second time a truck carrying fuel crashed along the Calabar-Ogoja highway within a month, especially in Biase Local Government Area of Cross River State,” an eyewitness lamented.
The eyewitness, who declined giving his name, said “Although the Government and NDDC are trying very hard to ensure the road gets a new look and come out from its dilapidated state which has turned the road to a death zone, accidents still occurred.”
He called on the residents to take precaution while approaching highly inflammable vehicles and should report such accidents to the Police, Fire service or similar agencies closed to them.
As at press time, residents were still seen scooping fuel without minding the danger posed by the act.
The Public Relations Officer of the state fire service, Mr Cletus Makpere, who confirmed the incident, said on phone that his men were at the scene of the incident.
“I thanked God, there is no casualty. As I am speaking now, we have our men in each local government area of the state. They are there ensuring safety of lives and property,” he stated.
Meanwhile, calls put across to the Public Relations Officer of the state command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Dr Godwin Uwen, rang out as at the time of filing this report.