A tanker explosion in Gawu community, Abaji area council of the Federal Capital Territory has claimed the lives of three almajarai and eight other persons.
Among those that died were a house wife, Halima Mohammed Yusuf, chairman of the vigilante of Gawu, Adamu Ibrahim, Dantala Usman, Umar Aliyu, Mohammed Hamza, Hassan Usman, Gambo Hamisu and Sani Abdulmutalib.
Reports said the incident happened around 11:23 am when a petrol laden tanker was trying to avoid a head-on collision with a ‘Dangote’ trailer.
An eyewitness said the tanker driver who was coming from Lapai axis heading to Izom suddenly veered off the road when he was trying to dodge a pothole. He said the vehicle crashed on the road, spilling the content on by the road side.
He said some residents of the rush to the scene with containers to scoop the fuel, and suddenly there was an explosion, killing three Almajiri and eights others including a woman who came to chase the boys from the scene.
The Chief of Gawu, Alhaji Yusuf Ibrahim confirmed the report but said the incident happened at about 9am on Sunday.
He said the dead bodies have been buried according to Islamic rites.
The FCT sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) who also confirmed the incident said 22 persons were involved in the incident.
He said 10 of the victim’s were burnt to death and ten others, eight male adults and two female adults, sustained various degrees of burns.
He said the burnt victims were rescued by the unit command of the FRSC and taken to Federal Medical Centre at new -Gawu in Niger state for treatment.
He attributed the incident to over-speeding and loss of concentration.
