The Police Command in Rivers says three persons lost their lives in a fuel tanker explosion that took place in the state on Tuesday.

The tragic incident occurred when a petrol-laden tanker veered off the road, colliding with a taxi and bursting into flames at the Obiri Ikwerre flyover section of the East-West Road around 9:00 a.m on Tuesday.

SP Grace Iringe-Koko, spokesperson of the command, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt that the car’s occupants were severely burnt and that they could not be identified.

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“I can confirm that three persons perished after a tanker carrying petrol fell on a commercial vehicle at the Obiri Ikwerre flyover stretch of the East-West Road.

“The Fire Service has successfully put out the fire, but the area has been cordoned off due to ongoing petrol leakage from the tanker.

“The Commissioner of Police, Tunji Disu, and I were on the ground earlier to assess the situation,” she said.

Iringe-Koko added that traffic has been diverted from the flyover to alternative routes to prevent further casualties.

A NAN correspondent who visited the accident scene saw the burnt vehicle and charred bodies of victims of the inferno on the road.

The incident happened a few kilometres from the Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital and University of Port Harcourt.

There was an extensive gridlock stretching a few kilometres on the road that connects to the N200 billion Ring Road project currently being constructed by the Rivers Government in the aftermath of the tanker explosion.

An eyewitness, Ebiere Faith, noted that the explosion’s impact was felt kilometres away from her office sending shockwaves into many homes and property.

“Some individuals said that their glass windows were shattered due to the impact of the explosion,” she told NAN.