Fuel Fire Tragedy

The rescent gruesome death of 190 people in a fire incident caused by the petrol spilled by a fuel tanker which had an accident in a community called kantugal, in kaganko local Govt area of kaduna state is a colossal but avoidable National tragedy, reports indicated that the awful incident occurred as some members of the community scooped and try to make a living from the spilt fuel.

Attempts by the driver of the tanker and the community head and the elders to keep the people away from the accident scene was reported to have been rebuffed until an inferno engulfed the victims. Thirty-nine students of the school in the village were reported to be among the dead victims while several others suffered serious burns and are receiving teatment in the hospitals.

It is heart-rending that we are once again mourning the loss of our compatriots to an avoidable tragedy. This tragic incident has increased by one the number of deadly fuel fire incident involving massive loss of lives during attempt to fetch what appeared like free petroleum for all people.

Hundreds of lives have been losed in similar major fuel fuel fire since the nation recorded its first major fuel fire tragedy in Jese Delta State some years ago. Last year hundreds of people was also roasted alive during the attempt to fetch spilled fuel from burst pipeline at Abule-Egba Atlas coves jetty area in Lagos.

It is sad that Nigerians failed to learn useful lessons about the dangers of the road rush to fetch spilled fuel in these past incident even worse still in the lost of as many as 38 students in the latest incidents.