Families of The Enugu Tanker Fire Victims In Tears
The Ugwu Onyeama section of the Enugu -Onitsha Expressway became a somber gathering point on Sunday as families of the 18 victims who perished in Saturday’s petrol tanker fire came to identify their loved ones. Many were inconsolable, recounting the devastating loss of family members who had boarded vehicles consumed by the inferno.
Crowds from Onitsha, and nearby towns also visited hospitals where survivors were receiving treatment. At the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (Park Lane), a hospital official revealed that most patients were transferred to the National Orthopaedic Hospital due to the severity of their burns. Efforts by reporters to access the wards at the orthopedic hospital were denied.
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At the accident site, the grief was palpable as charred vehicles stirred painful memories for relatives. “My in-law, who just returned from abroad, was burnt in this Lexus,” one mourned. Another man, overwhelmed with sorrow, cried out, “My world has turned upside down. My mother and my siblings—Chioma, Nnamdi, and Izu—are all gone.”
Efforts to obtain updates from the Federal Road Safety Corps were unsuccessful as the sector commander, Franklin Agbakoba Onyekwere, was unavailable for comment. The tragedy has left families shattered and communities grieving over the lives lost in the avoidable incident.
