A petrol tanker went up in flames on Saturday evening after it fell at a bad section of the Ogheghe junction along the Sapele Road bypass in Benin City, Edo State, causing panic and grounding traffic in the area.
A video from the scene showed residents and motorists scrambling for safety as thick smoke billowed from the burning tanker.
An eyewitness in the video said the tanker “fell on the bad portion of the road and immediately caught fire,” warning people to distance themselves from the blaze.
When contacted, the Edo State Fire Service confirmed the incident. A fire service personnel, who identified herself simply as Faith, said the agency received a distress call around 7:00 p.m. and immediately deployed firefighters to the location.
“We were alerted about the fire at around 7 p.m. and we sent our officers out with the fire-fighting truck,” she said.
“Unfortunately, it took a while for them to reach the scene because motorists did not create enough space for the emergency vehicle to pass. This delay is a recurring challenge for us during fire emergencies.”
She added that the team arrived shortly after 8 p.m. and worked to contain the flames.
Residents have repeatedly described the Ogheghe axis of Sapele Road as dangerous due to deep potholes and poor road conditions which slow traffic and increase the risk of accidents.
In a related development, the Federal Road Safety Corps recently warned that deteriorating road conditions along major highways in Edo are contributing to fatal crashes.
The State Sector Commander, Cyril Mathew, recalled a separate accident along the Benin–Auchi road where eight people were burnt to death after a truck with failed brakes crashed into vehicles trapped in traffic.
The FRSC and residents are calling for urgent repairs to the affected road sections to prevent further tragedies.
