By Paul Olayemi

SOME motorists close to the scene of the Ugbenu Koko Junction tanker explosion that occurred on Sunday morning along the Warri/Benin Highway have told horrid tales of how they came within a whisker of death in the explosion.

No fewer than five lives and over 17 vehicles were lost when the fuel tanker that had fallen the previous day as a result of a bad road exploded with some persons busy scooping fuel.

Several persons sustained serious injuries and are said to be receiving treatment in various hospitals around the vicinity.

Among those caught in the incident but escaped death is
Onime Osaivbie Gift narrated how the smoke omitting from another vehicle saved his and seven other passengers’ lives.

“We were on this hold up from 5 pm on Saturday morning when we got here, I drive a Siena bus with Seven passengers and at about 9 pm the hold was not moving at all when we heard that a tanker filled with PMS had fallen and that was why it’s difficult for vehicles to even move.

“We saw them those from the neighbouring community, both youths and even men and women, some persons tried to stop them but they did not leave. They were quarrelling with those who tried to stop them that this was their community and that they would deal with anybody who was trying to stop them, we left them

“We were still in the vehicle when another vehicle that is trying to outmanoeuvred us started omitting black smoke, we had no choice but to get out of our bus and we started moving away from our vehicle when we heard the explosion”

Mr Osaivbie who narrated his story in tears said his bus was burnt beyond recognition and heaped the blame on the condition of the road

Another troubled driver whose bus got burnt beyond recognition, Moses Atalana said he was pressed and had to find somewhere to ease himself, I was there when I heard the explosion, as I speak to you my vehicle got burnt beyond the limit, maybe that would have been my faith” he said pointing to the burnt vehicle.

However there are possibilities that more bodies may have recovered from the deadly tanker explosion as some of the survival claim some persons jumped into the swamp at the height of the inferno “we heard some persons shouting in the swamp yesterday early morning after the fire had died down, I am sure bodies will be inside those swamp waters’ Alake, another motorist said.