Over twenty persons were said to have been burnt to death when a tanker with full load of petrol lost control due to break failure and fell on the bridge of maboro river in Ankpa, Ankpa local government of kogi state.
An eyewitness said the incident happened around 3.30pm on wednesday .
According to him, the situation is yet not clear as to the numbers of death, saying some were burnt beyond recognition and body parts and debris of cars liters in the area .
“Nobody knows the number of dead people now. Many People were in the river doing one thing or the other when the tanker lost control, fell and exploded on the bridge. It’s horrible. The most gory scene I have seen in my life”, said Usman Ahmed a resident of Ankpa.
Musa Audu another resident of the town stated that “it’s the second major disaster in Ankpa within this month. This one is the most terrible and horrible . Over twenty persons were burnt to death, some beyond recognition”.
He added many who were “crushed to death had their body parts scattered all over the place”, adding that such ” parts had to be picked in bits and pieces in body bags”.
The Kogi State FRSC Sector Commander, Commander Stephen Dawulung confirmed the incident ,saying the number of casualty cannot be ascertain for now .
“‘My officers are there, putting the pieces together. We don’t know the number of dead yet. A tanker , one bus and three cars, three motorcycles were involved”, he said.
