A truck conveying 33,000 litres of petrol was involved in a lone motor accident on Wednesday afternoon along Benin-Agbor Road by Ukhuaihe Hills, Okhuaihe River, and spilt its contents.
The public relations officer of the Edo state police command, Chidi Nwabuzor, disclosed this in a press release in Benin City on Wednesday.
According to him, the truck driver lost control of the vehicle while trying to ascend the hill before it fell, prompting residents to come and scoop up the spilt contents.
The state’s police spokesperson in the statement said the command “wishes to inform the general public of a lone motor accident today, Wednesday, 1st May 2024, at about 1530hrs, along Benin-Agbor Road by Ukhuaihe Hills, around the River, involving one Mack Truck conveying 33,000 litres of PMS with the inscriptions petrol Con Oil on it.
“The accident occurred about 200 meters after Okhuaihe River, as the truck driver lost control when he was unable to ascend the hills, rolled backwards, and fell while the people around turned out in their numbers and started scooping the Petroleum Products against the warnings of the Police for them to guard against a fire outbreak,” he explained.
Mr Nwabuzor said the Commissioner of Police, Funsho Adegboye, called on the fire service as well as television and radio stations to sensitise citizens of the danger of scooping petroleum products.
The police commissioner warned parents and guardians to advise their children and wards to desist from scooping petroleum products at the accident scene or other places to avoid a fire outbreak that may consume their lives.