By Bon Peters
Reckless driving allegedly by two tanker drivers has been blamed for the fire incident that occurred in Rivers State over the weekend.
The Rivers Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Chris Kuje, said, according to preliminary investigations, two trucks carrying petroleum products collided when their respective drivers were jostling for space on the popular East West Road in Rivers State.
He stated that “during the struggle, the trucks collided sideways and caused a rupture in the trailer of one truck carrying a petroleum product,” consuming five persons, including a pregnant woman and 120 vehicles.
He reiterated that the personnel of FRSC deployed at the scene controlled traffic and created diversion through Oyigbo as an alternative route to ease congestion, noting that following the directive of the governor, the corps mobilized Indorama Petrochemicals which provided cranes that successfully removed all the trucks from the road on Saturday.
“We met the directive of the Governor of Rivers State to ensure that the road is freed for movement before the close of the day.
“We mobilized Indorama Petrochemicals to provide a Crane that successfully removed all the trucks from the road at about 5:30 pm, the carcasses were also evacuated away by low bed trucks provided by the same company.
“Staff from three Commands namely RS6.1 (Rivers sector), RS6.11 (Eleme Unit Command) and RS6.16 (Obio-Akpor Unit Command) were mobilized to the scene for effective traffic management. Vehicular movement was fully restored by removing all obstructions,” Mr Kuje said.