The Police Command in Rivers says four people and over 70 vehicles were burnt in Friday’s fuel tanker explosion in the state.
The explosion occurred along Eleme section of the East-West Road in the state at about 7:30 p.m.
SP Grace Iringe-Koko, spokesman of command, told newsmen in Port Harcourt on Saturday that the tragedy occurred following a collision between a heavy-duty truck and a petrol-laden tanker.
The incident happened a few metres from the Indorama Petrochemical Company and roughly 10 kilometres from the Port Harcourt Refinery.
There was an extensive gridlock stretching over five kilometres on the road under reconstruction as part of the 200 billion naira Ring Road project by the Rivers Government.
State government trucks, accompanied by police and Federal Road Safety Commission officials, were seen evacuating the burnt vehicles to facilitate traffic flow.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers, who visited the accident scene, described it as tragic and sad.