Many residents were feared dead on Monday in Ahumbe village on the Alliade/ Makurdi Federal Highway in the Gwer East Local Government Area of Benue State when a tanker, loaded with petroleum product, exploded and caught fire while trying to avoid potholes.
An eyewitness, Mr Austin Nembe, told the PUNCH that the tanker was coming from the eastern part of the country and was heading towards Makurdi when it fell at Ahumbe.
The witness was said to have narrated that, as soon as the tanker fell, the villagers raced to the scene to scoop fuel and in the process, the vehicle exploded and killed many of the residents.
“You know that tankers are always partitioned in drums. So, the people went to the scene of the accident to scoop fuel.
“In the process of scooping fuel, there was an explosion, which resulted in several people being burnt to death”, he told the news medium.
He added that a commercial bus with passengers also ran into the accident scene.
