It was a day of tears, torrents of tears, at the Upper Iweka area of Onitsha, the commercial nerve centre of Anambra State, Wednesday, as fire gutted over 500 lock-up shops, and at least 40 buildings, leaving a woman and her bay dead.
Eye witnesses said tragedy occurred when a petrol-laden tanker fell and exploded while descending from the Zik roundabout end of the Onitsha-Enugu expressway; turning the entire area into a huge conflagration, covering the entire area.
The deceased woman was said to have jumped from her shop with her baby but fell into the gutter already filled with a fast-spreading stream of fire.
But many private and state government-owned transport companies escaped the fire; luckily.
The fire, continued the eye witness, spread quickly from one high rise building to another, forcing people to scamper for safety.
First responders, mainly youth, had to climb tall buildings to rescue aged people and children.
Spokesman of the Anambra State Police Command, Mr. Haruna Mohammed, confirmed the tragedy and the two dead were burnt beyond recognition.
“Today (Wednesday), a trailer loaded with petroleum product lost control at upper Iweka, on the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, Onitsha, and crashed inside a pavement in between the expressway,” said the statement..
“As a result, the fire spilled over through the gutter and affected many shops and houses.
“The Commissioner of Police John Abang visited the scene for on the spot assessment and appealed to the residents to remain calm.
“Fire Service department was equally contacted.
“A yet- to- be identified woman and her baby caught up by the inferno and burnt beyond recognition were rushed to Toronto hospital but certified dead by a medical doctor while receiving treatment.”
Mohammed said the command had commenced investigation into the disaster.
