Again petrol tanker explosion kills 5 on Lagos/Ibadan expressway

Ezeme Solomon

Five persons where on Wednesday confirmed dead at a filling station along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway after a petrol tanker ran into another tanker and spilled its content, leading to a fire outbreak which claimed the lives the people who were burnt beyond recognition.

The latest explosion is coming barely 72 hours after an explosion occurred on the same Lagos-Ibadan expressway on Saturday in which 3 persons were confirmed dead and 7 other sustained various degrees of injuries.

Details of the accident show that the explosion took place at the Tunji Alegi Filling Station, Kwakyama, Ogere, in the Ikenne LGA of Ogun State, as confirmed by the Lagos State division of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

The agency also confirmed the number of casualties after its officials stormed the scene to put the situation under control.

Florence Okpe, Public Relations Officer of the FRSC, Ogun State who confirmed the incident on Wednesday, blamed the incident on carelessness on the part of the driver.

She appealed to motorists to always exercise patience on the road and also comply with traffic rules and regulations.

Okpe also disclosed that the corpses have since been moved to FOS Morgue in Ipara, Remo North Local Government Area.

“A total of five persons were burnt beyond recognition. They were recovered from the crashed trucks and have been deposited at FOS Morgue Ipara. Further updates soon.

“The suspected causes of the multiple crashes were wrongful overtaking and dangerous driving on the part of the petrol tanker. The tanker collided with a truck. This led to a fire outbreak,” she said.

FRSC officials are presently on ground at the scene, helping to divert traffic along the route to prevent an escalation of the incident.