BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

PORT HARCOURT – WAILING continued, yesterday, in Okogbe community, Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State, when news got to the community that two of their sons, who were victims of last Thursday’s petrol tanker fire in the area had died in the hospital.

It will be recalled that no fewer than 100 persons from the community perished in the petrol tanker that fell and burst into flames on East-West Road end of the community last Thursday.

A youth leader in the area, Mr Felix, told Vanguard that they had continued to bury corpses of those who perished in the petrol tanker fire.  “We just heard that two of our sons, who made it to the hospital died and are being brought back home for burial,” he said.

Another youth leader, Bethel Udo, who lost his younger brother, Aguenita Bethel, said his family and the entire community were still in the pain, after the sad fire disaster.  He said some of his family members, who could not stand the sight of his younger brother’s photographs in the house had to burn them recently, believing that the action would ease their pains.

“To reduce tears in our house, some of my relatives brought out the photographs of my younger brother, who died and burnt them. Nobody wants to remember the painful loss.”

Some youths in the community, who also spoke off record, feared that the petrol fire disaster was beyond what the ordinary eyes could see. “We believe there is something strange about the incident,” they said.

They said they were worried that some of those who reportedly died from the incident should not have passed on because the burns they suffered were not too severe.

Meantime, there was heavy traffic in the community’s end of the East West Road, yesterday.  Travellers were stranded there for several hours. Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC and security operatives were seen, making frantic effort to control the traffic, as heavy duty vehicle broke down at a bad spot on the road.