Chief dies in fuel tanker tragedy

A chief died in an accident in which a fuel tanker overturned and exploded at Ugunja trading centre in Ugenya District.

Mr Alois Ojeng, 57, who was the chief of North East Ugenya location, had gone shopping with his wife when he was caught up in the tragedy.

According to his wife, Mrs Phoebe Onyango, 52, the burning tanker was heading towards where they were seated, prompting them to scamper for safety.

The chief collapsed after running for about 200 metres during the Tuesday evening incident. He was taken to the Ambira sub-District Hospital where he died while undergoing treatment.

According to the medic in charge of the hospital, Dr Howard Moyia, the chief died from the shock, adding that he might have inhaled petrol fumes.

Siaya police boss Maurice Kiplagat said that the driver of the ill-fated tanker carrying 31,000 litres of petrol, which was destined for Rwanda, tried to avoid a head-on collision with an oncoming vehicle when it swerved and overturned.

Mr Kiplagat blamed cooking on the roadside for the fire. Several food kiosks were also razed. Police officers cordoned off the burning tanker to keep away locals who wanted to siphon fuel.

A fire engine from Kisumu, 73 kilometres away, arrived at the scene an hour later and managed to put out the fire within 20 minutes.

Mr Chrispin Omondi, a witnesses, said that the parking of matatus along the narrow road was to blame for the accident. “A matatu was picking passengers by the roadside while the two tankers were trying to give each other way,” Mr Omondi said.

Mr Jeff Otieno, a matatu operator on the Busia-Kisumu route, lamented that despite the Siaya county council collecting a lot of cash from them, they had no stage to park their vehicles.