A Family’s Frustration Grows Amid Struggle to Find Relative Presumed Killed in Likomba Accident

By MMI

The family of Njume Mary does not know if she is alive or dead, almost two weeks after a fuel tanker accident killed at least eight people and left three others injured in Likomba, Tiko.

Mama Njume left Limbe that Friday morning, December 12, to meet her sister in Tiko so they could go to a police station and obtain Njume’s ID card.

Unfortunately, she never reached her destination. The family revealed that she left Mutengene heading to Tiko, and 15 minutes later, they heard about the accident. That was the last time the family heard from her.

Whether Njume Mary was caught up in the ghastly crash or not, the family does not know. However, they are highly convinced that their mother may have died in the tanker crash.

DNA Submitted but No Results Yet

The family says they have provided DNA samples to authorities but have yet to receive any update. They were asked to return in January for feedback.

Speaking to MMI, Mama Njume’s sister said they immediately went to the hospitals after the crash searching for her but were unable to identify her.

Earlier reporting indicated that most people who died in the accident were burnt to ashes.

In one of the cars that MMI filmed, only bones was what remained of its occupants. Eyewitness said the car was caught between a kiosk made of iron and the fuel tanker that exploded, making it difficult for people to get out.

While moving and searching, Njume Mary’s sister said she encountered several dead and injured people in the hospital who were victims of the accident.

But she has grown increasingly frustrated because all attempts to identify her sister, presumed dead, have been futile.

“I was the last person that spoke with her. Her ID card and telephone—everything got burnt. They saw it all at MTN,” she stated, adding that she had gone to the telephone company to trace her sister’s last location.

She accused the authorities of not doing enough to identify her sister.

“They should speak the truth. The eight deaths they are claiming is not the correct number. How many people did we see in the mortuary? I counted the number in the mortuary four times, and it is more than what was announced.”

She added that some other people died after arriving at the hospital, like the case that was referred to Douala.

“In the hospital, the survivors are more than the three numbers given by the authorities,” she said.

Conflicting Figures

According to Cameroon’s Minister of Transport, Jean Ernest Massena Ngale Bihehe, the accident was caused by reckless driving by the fuel tanker driver.

That morning, at about 7 am, when children were heading to school, eyewitnesses said the fuel tanker swerved to dodge a pothole in the middle of the road and crashed into other cars, destroying a high-tension electricity pole that sparked a fire. Then the tanker exploded.

While at the scene, the Senior Divisional Officer of Fako, Viang Mekala said eight people were killed, eight cars destroyed, and 10 houses damaged.

However, people who were at the scene and saw what happened reported more than eight deaths. The SDO said only three people survived and were receiving treatment.

But in just one hospital—not even in Tiko—the director of the Mutengene Baptist Hospital said they received six injured people, but one died and another was discharged.

Meanwhile, the SDO claimed the three survivors were being treated at the Limbe Regional Hospital annex.

To this day, the government has not officially identified the victims of the crash.

Njume Mary may have been completely ravaged by the fire, and without identification, the family will likely find no closure or be able to bury her.