One dead, 17 vehicles burnt in petrol tanker fire in Edo state

The ancient city of Benin, the Edo State capital was thrown into a heavy pandemonium on Boxing day following a tragic accident caused by a petrol tanker that fell off the road and eventually went ablaze, killing a bus driver and destroying 17 other vehicles.

Daily Post gathered that a petrol tanker travelling from the Ekiosa Market axis of Murtala Muhammed Way towards Esigie Junction in Benin apparently lost control and plunged into a gutter, with its content gushing out.

It was learnt that the tanker was engulfed in flames 20 minutes after it fell, with the fire spreading to adjourning areas, causing residents and passersby to scamper for safety.

According to eyewitness account, the bus driver simply identified as Kingsley was burnt to death as the fire caught with him while he was trying to pull his 10- seater bus away from the ill-fated tanker’s inferno.

Furthermore, 17 vehicles and five motorcycles parked along the roadside were burnt to ashes from the raging inferno.

However, the driver of the tanker and his conductor were rescued and taken to a hospital in Benin for medical attention.

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