Three persons were killed yesterday in a tanker fire at Rumola, Government Reservation Area, Phase 4, Port Harcourt Rivers State.
The incident was said to have occurred when a fuel-laden tanker spilled its contents in adjourning buildings.
An eyewitness said dozens of other persons sustained varying degrees of burn; and property worth millions of naira destroyed.
“We woke up this morning to see heavy fire and billows of smoke coming the Rumola end of Port Harcourt. We made efforts to contact the fire service, but they arrived very late.
“The inferno had burnt and destroyed properties worth millions of naira. A woman, her little child and a young boy lost their lives in the incident. Several persons sustained varying degrees of burn and were evacuated to the hospital,” stated an eyewitness, Chidi Ohale.
Some of the traders who lost their wares to the fire incident appealed to the state government to come to their aid.
A trader, John Eke, said he lost goods worth millions of naira.
The chairman of Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, Victor Ihunwo, assured that that the state government would assist those who lost their property.
Ihuwo, who spoke on a radio programme monitored by our correspondent, advised residents of Port Harcourt to be safety-conscious, especially during the harmattan period.
