By Francesca Hangeior
The National Emergency Management Agency on Thursday confirmed six fatalities, while the number of injured persons is yet to be known in the tanker explosion along the AYA-Karu expressway, Abuja.
The agency also said the injured victims have been taken to the National Hospital, State House Clinic, Karu General Hospital, and Customs Clinic Karu for medical attention.
In a post on its X handle, it stated that it received a distress call about a major road crash involving a Compressed Natural Gas truck that lost control and crashed into another truck along AYA-Karu expressway on Wednesday at about 7pm.
“The crash resulted in the fire that subsequently impacted several other vehicles with significant damages. The FRSC, as the lead agency, was already on the scene due to the proximity of their Zebra base.
“NEMA’s Search and Rescue Team, along with emergency response vehicles, including a Medical Intensive Care Unit ambulance, were mobilised. Additional coordination was handled by Director of search and Rescue to ensure the strategic deployment of backup teams. Multiple agencies, including FRSC, Federal Fire Service, NSCDC, NPF, the military, FCT Emergency Management Agency, and FCT Fire Service, collaborated to extinguish fires, extricate trapped individuals, and evacuate the injured to hospitals.
“The crash involved 16 cars and two trucks. Six fatalities were confirmed, while the number of injured persons is yet to be determined. The injured victims were taken to the National Hospital, State House Clinic, Karu General Hospital, and Customs Clinic Karu for medical attention.”
It emphasised that the major challenge during the response was traffic and crowd control, which caused delays in accessing the scene, especially for the MICU ambulance.
“After the successful evacuation of affected persons and the clearance of the road for normal traffic flow, the DSAR officially handed over the scene to the Police at 23:48 hrs. On behalf of DG NEMA, (Mrs Zubaida Umar) appreciation was extended to all stakeholders involved in the response,” it added.