10 die in Taraba tanker auto crash

Ten persons were feared dead in an auto crash involving a petrol tanker and a trailer in Zing town, Zing local government area of Taraba State on Wednesday.

Twenty others, who sustained injuries in the accident, are receiving treatment at the General Hospital Zing and the Federal Medical Center Jalingo.

According to eyewitnesses, a patrol tanker, loaded with premium motor spirit (PMS), heading to Yola, Adamawa State, lost its brake and crashed into a trailer in Zing town on a market day.

The tanker burst into flames, which engulfed many traders who were in the market. Many buildings, vehicles and motorcycles, including other valuables, were not spared in the inferno that ensued.

The auto crash is coming three weeks after a truck crushed the Taraba State chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Ben Ubeh, to death in the same town.

An eyewitness, Nyanshako Ishaya, said: “A tanker, traveling at high speed, lost control when its automated break system (ABS) failed. He rammed into a moving trailer and immediately burst into flames.

I saw a man riding on a motorcycle in front of the tanker telling people to clear off the road, saying the tanker had lost its brake and was unable to decelerate. Within the blink of an eye, the tanker crashed into a moving trailer.

“An expectant mother and three others were burnt in the inferno. I saw them burning but I could do nothing to help them. The fire was too much and I had to run for my life,” he said.