Onitsha petrol tanker fire victims get mass burial

Anambra State, yesterday gave 32 unidentified bodies burnt be­yond recognition from the May 31, Onitsha pet­rol tanker fire accident mass burial at St. An­drew’s Anglican Church Cemetery, Obosi.

The solemn ceremony which commenced with a 21-gun salute in honour of the victims before an in­terdenominational funeral service led by the Anglican Bishop of the Niger, Rt. Rev. Owen Nwokolo, also attracted various govern­ment dignitaries and person­alities.

Governor Willie Obiano disclosed that tissue speci­men of the unidentified bod­ies were taken and deposited at the Onitsha General Hos­pital, where it will remain for at least 10 years for fur­ther investigations.

Obiano who described the accident as a big tragedy also said the government will erect cenotaphs in the graveyard in remembrance of the victims.

He noted that government acted swiftly in response to the tragedy by taking pragmatic steps to forestall future occurrences, which included the ban on fuel car­rying tankers from plying in the daytime and restriction of movement of commercial cyclists from some desig­nated busy areas.

He said the government is working with relevant agen­cies to ensure safety on the state roads and urged the motoring public to imbibe safety habits always.

The Executive Secretary, State Emergency Manage­ment Agency (SEMA), Chief Paul Odenigbo said Anambra has set a pace in response to the sad incident through the continued fol­low up measures in assisting the victims of the tanker fire despite the fact that most of them are not indigenes of the state.

He commended Governor Obiano for his commitment to the welfare of the people and disclosed that the gov­ernor personally supervised the relocation of the victims to three best hospitals in the state after the accident.

He also appreciated the Federal Government through the Vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, who visited the state and commiserated with the victims of the in­cident, and described such gesture as an indication that Obiano is in the good light of the Federal Government.

Earlier in a sermon, the Archdeacon in charge of Obosi Archdeaconry, Angli­can Communion, Venerable Oswald Ezekwere, called on Christians to live everyday with the consciousness that everything on earth is van­ity.

[SunNews]