According to FRSC sources, nine
persons died in the petrol tanker
fire around Otedola Bridge on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on
Thursday after it caught fire and spread the inferno to the vehicles behind.
According
to official sources, nine persons died in the petrol tanker fire around Otedola
Bridge on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Thursday.
The
petrol tanker had caught fire and spread the inferno to the vehicles behind,
Federal Road Safety Corps [FRSC] personnels said.
The
personnels also said in its update that the victims were burnt beyond
recognition. There were four other serious injuries.
According
to the FRSC, 54 vehicles were burnt. There were 45 cars caught in the inferno,
along with five buses, two trucks, INEC tricycle and the tanker itself .
The
accident, outward Lagos, happened around 5.30pm on Thursday.
According
to Bisi Kazeem, spokesman of the FRSC, the cause of accident was break failure
suffered by the petrol laden tanker.
A
Joint rescue operation involving FRSC, LASEMA, NPF, RRS, NSCDC, Lagos State
Fire service, LASTMA was mounted promptly within 10 minutes of the accident.
Witnesses Speak On
Horror Of Lagos Tanker Fire
Witnesses and survivors recounted the horrific fire that killed
nine people and destroyed 54 cars when the tanker fell and expoded.
A witness identified as Adewale Adesanya, said he
never envisaged that the truck would experience any brake failure.
He said that immediately the vehicle experienced brake
failure, it fell and spilled its contents.
“Due to the state of the road, I saw the content spilling
towards my vehicle with fire accompanying it.
“So I quickly ran out of the vehicle and cross to the other side
to avoid been caught in the inferno.”
Another survivor, Michael Simon, whose car was razed, said: “I
am happy I didn’t die while trying to escape from the scene.
“I tried manoeuvring my vehicle to avoid been burnt but my
efforts proved abortive.”
Maria Oje, another witness described her escape as the
handiwork of God. She said she saw some motorists’ who failed to run for
safety.
“One of them who was on fire fell down, as he could not run any
longer. Nobody could rescue them as everyone was also running for dear life.”
Nkechi Obiageli said : “I was in a commercial bus heading
towards the Mowe area of Ogun State. The bus was beside the tanker.
“There was traffic and when it cleared a little, the bus driver
manoeuvred his way to the front.
“We were about a few vehicles away
from the tanker when we heard the sound of an explosion.
“The
fuel from the tanker spilled on the expressway and all the vehicles at its back
went up in flames.
“People
ran for dear life. There was confusion everywhere.”
A
bus driver, Sunday Esene, said his vehicle was burnt in the accident. He said:
“I
had just dropped off my passengers at Berger bus stop and turned to buy fuel. I
was on my way back when I saw the tanker.
“All
of a sudden, it tumbled and hit the median. As soon as I realised that fuel was
spilling out of the tanker, I abandoned my bus and jumped to the other side of
the road.
“A
few seconds later, the tanker exploded. I am sure over 50 vehicles got burnt
with many lives lost.”
A
motorist, Aderibigbe Oluwafemi, said he escaped death by a whisker as the
tanker was in front of his vehicle.
“We
were in traffic. When the traffic eased a little, I noticed that the tanker in
my front did not move.
“The
next thing I saw was that the tanker started moving backwards and it fell.
“Immediately
it fell, I opened my door, removed my key, phone and jumped to the other side
of the road. My car got burnt, but I am happy to be alive.”
It
took the effort of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Lagos
State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA), Lagos State Fire Service, Federal
Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), State
Environmental Health Monitoring Unit (SEHMU), Rapid Response Squad (RRS), the
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the police and other agencies
to put out the fire and restore calm on the road.
General
Manager, LASEMA, Adeshina Tiamiyu, said:
“The
accident happened around 5.25pm and involved a tanker loaded with petrol.
“The
tanker fell and spilt its content, causing fire which burnt 54 vehicles. The
vehicles, which were of different models, were trapped behind the truck.
“Some
motorists, who turned to run away, crashed into other vehicles. Some jumped out
and others fell into the gutter in the course of running away.
“We
found dead bodies on the ground and in the gutter. Some of the people who died
in the gutter had probably been caught by the fire and jumped into the gutter
to put it out.
“Nine
dead bodies have been recovered and four were injured. Two were seriously
injured, while two sustained minor injuries.
“The
injured have been taken to a hospital, while the bodies have been taken by
SEHMU to the mainland hospital mortuary.
“We
are currently making efforts to remove the burnt vehicles from the road.”
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