Tanker explosion kills pregnant women, 13 others in Ondo

<p>Police, FRSC recover eight bodies</p>, <p>The bustling community of Ore, Odigbo Local Council of Ondo State, was in a pensive mood yesterday, following an explosion of a tanker on Sunday evening, where scores of lives were lost.</p>, <p>It was gathered that over 15 people, including two pregnant women and children, were reportedly burnt to death at the Showboy axis of the community, when the fuel-laden truck crashed into a ditch with a flowing stream in the area.</p>, <p>Following the crash, some members of the community, armed with buckets and kegs, rushed to the area to scoop fuel from the tanker.</p>, <p>Many residents within the vicinity of the explosion have continued to express shock over the development since its occurrence.</p>, <p>When The Guardian visited the community along the Ore-Benin highway, it was a tale of agony as the fire torched some houses and a church.</p>, <p>According to residents, who wore mournful looks, it was like a movie scene when the explosion rocked the area.</p>, <p>A trader, Cynthia Ogunbameru, residing in one of the buildings located along the stream where the explosion occurred, said the truck fell into the ditch at about 4:30 p.m. and people, particularly commercial motorcyclists, started trooping to the scene to scoop fuel.</p>, <p>Ogunbameru said the explosion occurred between 6:30 and 6:45 p.m. while people were scooping fuel from the tanker, adding that some persons evacuated the bodies of loved ones on Sunday night.</p>, <p>She, however, said that prior to the explosion, residents within the axis had warned those scooping the fuel to stop but they ignored all warnings.</p>, <p>“This morning I met about 10 charred bodies, while those around the tanker cannot be recognised. They were packed into a sack by officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). Some bodies had also been evacuated on Sunday night.</p>, <p>“What actually happened was that the fuel started spilling into a stream in the community while the residents continued to scoop the fuel with buckets and ke