Following the tragic tanker fire explosion which occurred on 25th January 2025 at Ugwu Onyeama expressway, Enugu State, a joint team of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Enugu State Emergency Management Agency (ENSEMA) and Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) conducted rapid assessment to ascertain the cause and extent of damage and location of the affected persons for appropriate further actions to assist them.
NEMA said in a statement that findings from the assessment revealed that a truck carrying full load of petroleum motor spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol, suffered break failures when it could no longer move forward on elevated area of the expressway and in the process of its rolling back, crashed into roadside concretes and vehicles behind, spilled its product and subsequently caught fire.
A total of 16 vehicles conveying 44 persons were burnt. The tragic incident resulted in 18 persons burnt on the spot beyond recognition, 23 sustained various degrees of burns and 3 persons did not sustain any injury. The injured victims have been moved to Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESUTH) Parklane and the National Orthopedic hospital all in Enugu.
While nine of them have been treated and discharged, six are still on admission at the Orthopedic hospital.
Most of the victims were travelers as they are not from a particular community or state.
Meanwhile, the Director General NEMA Mrs Zubaida Umar has sympathized with victims of the fire explosion and commended the first responders for the timely evacuation of the affected persons to medical facilities. She has also directed the NEMA Enugu zonal office work with relevant authorities for immediate delivery of necessary supports to the victims.
