Anambra business hub, Upper Iweka, and Environs in Onitsha were saved from being gutted by fire when a 40-foot tanker laden with petrol skidded off the road and fell.

Chief Fire Service officer in Anambra, Mr. Martin Agbili, described the save as a “hand of God” who averted a black day for the state.

Agbili, while speaking to journalists in Onitsha on Wednesday, said that the incident resulted in heavy vehicular gridlock along Enugu- Onitsha Expressway.

He revealed that there was no life lost and that the vehicular gridlock caused by the averted incident had been controlled.

He commended the people who put calls across to the state fire service immediately after the tanker fell off track which facilitated the urgent attention given to the incident.

Agbili said that the quick calls aided the emergency intervention at the scene of the incident by the state firemen who ensured that necessary water dilution to avoid combustion of the tanker.

“We appreciate the partnership, as we cannot be everywhere at all times but with the support of the public by way of quick information dissemination to fire officers lots of fire outbreaks would be salvaged,” he said.

Agbili frowned at the habit of some people who rushed to the scene to scoop the petrol as it was discharging from the fallen tanker and noted that lives could be lost if it had flamed up.

“We tried to control the large crowd from scooping the Premium Motor Spirits (PMS); that act may cause fire outbreak and lives would have been lost for nothing.

“People should always stay away from falling petrol tankers, especially the one with liquid content which may trigger fire outbreak as a result of heat”, he said.

He further used the opportunity to urge residents to always adhere to fire preventive measures and to put calls immediately to the state fire service in case of any fire outbreak.