A trader Emmanuel Nnwaji has recounted the ordeal which saw 11 of his family members get burnt in a tanker explosion in Enugu State.

Nnwaji spoke about the gory incident which occurred earlier this year in a YouTube interview with investigative journalist, Deji Lambo.

The accident occurred on January 25, 2025 when Nnwaji’s brother and his family were traveling for their father’s burial.

“On that very day, my brother and his family were coming back from Onitsha down to Enugu where they met the tanker explosion,” he said in the video.

“The tanker was fully loaded with fuel (petrol) and after the explosion, they all got burnt to ashes.”

On the number of his family members that lost their lives, Nnwaji said they were 11 who were all traveling in a 1998 model Toyota Sienna vehicle.

He said his brother, having borrowed the vehicle from a friend was behind the wheels alongside six children, his wife, younger brother, boy servant and maid.

On how the incident happened, Nnwaji said: “As we were told because I wasn’t there, the tanker which suffered a brake failure hit their car from the back before catching fire.”

The incident was said to have occurred around 12:30 p.m on January 25 at the Ugwu Onyeama section of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.

A fuel tanker carrying fuel lost control while navigating the busy expressway, veering off its lane and colliding with multiple vehicles, triggering a massive fire.

The tanker was said to have collided with several other passenger vehicles, causing a devastating fire.

Eyewitnesses stated that no fewer than four private cars, four commuter buses, and two other tankers were engulfed in flames, with families and children reportedly burnt to ashes in the inferno.