No fewer than 20 persons were on Wednesday burnt to death when a petrol-laden tanker lost control and fell on Maboro river bridge in Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi state.
The incident was reported to have happened around 3pm. Some of the dead, it was learnt were children returning from school.
An eyewitness said, “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,” Usman Ahmed, a resident of Ankpa, said.
Another resident said, “This is the second major disaster in Ankpa within this month. This one is the most horrible . Over twenty persons were burnt to death, some beyond recognition”.
He added that 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”.
Kogi State FRSC Sector Commander, Stephen Dawulung, confirmed the incident, saying the casualty could not be ascertained.
“‘My boys are there, putting the pieces together. We don’t know the number of dead yet. A tanker , two buses and two motorcycles were involved”, he said.