A petrol tanker explosion has rocked Onitsha as a tanker laden with substance suspected to be petrol sparked a fire at the popular Upper Iweka junction of the commercial city.
The incident which occurred on Friday morning in front of the relief market, had many buildings and shops around the scene of the incident burnt.
The incident was confirmed by the South-East Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Major Eze, during a chat with Channels Television.
Eze had explained that the tanker fell on the road, after which it exploded as a result of the fire from a woman frying Akara on the roadside.
The NEMA top official could not immediately ascertain the number of casualties from the explosion adding that the situation has been brought under control.
According to reports, the explosion occurred when the affected tanker broke down at the bad portion of the busy Onitsha-Owerri expressway, close to the popular relief market at Onitsha.
The fire is said to have spread to several shops and residential buildings very close to the scene of the accident, as firefighters from Anambra and neighbouring Delta State battled the inferno.
The incident caused serious gridlock in the area, leaving many commuters travelling in and out of Onitsha stranded.
What you should know
This is not the first time the commercial city of Onitsha is rocked by a tanker explosion incident.
Recall that in October 2019, an explosion incident occurred in Onitsha when a tanker laden with petrol descending from the Ziks roundabout end of Onitsha-Enugu expressway, lost control from the Eastern Academy Secondary School opposite Toronto Hospital Onitsha and veered off the service lane.
The fuel tanker fell off the truck head and splashed fuel all over the area which immediately caught fire.
The incident recorded 2 casualties with at least 40 buildings, ranging from two storey to 4-storey buildings, and 500 lock-up shops burnt along Iweka Road Street.
