Pregnant Woman, Three Children, 15 Others Killed In Ondo Tanker Explosion

A petrol tanker explosion claimed the lives of more than 15 people in Ore, the capital of Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo state.

The spokesperson of the Ondo police command, Odunlami Ibukun who confirmed the details of the incident to TheCable, said a pregnant woman and three children were among the victims.

According to Ibukun, the fuel tanker fell and people rushed to collect petrol from the spillage when the explosion took place on Sunday evening.

“Yes, the fuel tanker fell, some people went there to scoop fuel, in the process the tanker exploded. 8 people were confirmed dead as at yesterday evening,” he said.

An anonymous witness at the scene reported that the explosion was triggered by a spark from the mobile phone of one of the individuals attempting to collect fuel.

“We were inside the church when we heard that tanker fell. The rain was also falling. People were taking fuel when fire started after a spark from a phone.

“Three children died and we counted over 15 bodies. A pregnant woman that wanted to buy the fuel also died,” the witness said.

This comes weeks after four persons, a male and three females, were injured following a gas explosion at the Ijaiye beside the Apostolic Church in the Agege area of Lagos State.