One dead, shops, 3 vehicles burnt, as petrol tanker explodes in Ajegunle/TollGate
Oredola Adeola
A Tanker carrying about 45,000 litres of petrol exploded at Ajegunle Bus stop, along Lagos/ Abeokuta express way before the tollgate, with one person reportedly dead, three vehicles and shops completely after he was caught up in the inferno.
According to one of the community heads in Ajegunle, Mr. Yisa Olakunle, who was at the scene of the incident, the explosion occurred when the Tanker driver was attempting to make way into the filling station located close to the bus stop in order to discharge its content.
The tanker unfortunately fell while negotiating the bend and spilled its content on the entire section of the road. One of the hoodlums who attempted to take advantage of the situation to scoop fuel unfortunately was trapped in the fire incident.
Mr Olakunle disclosed that casualty figure was minimal as only one person died while some commercial buses and vehicles, including roadside makeshift shops and containers along the bus stop also got burnt due to the rapid spread of the fire
He however commended the actions of the Lagos State Fire Service for responding promptly to extinguish the fire, adding that their rescue effort reduced the magnitude of damage.
Margaret Adeseye, Director of Lagos State Fire Service, in a statement obtained by EnergyDay, confirmed that the operatives of the agency had successfully contained the fire outbreak although three brands of vehicles and shops got burnt.
According to her, the fire and rescue Service has combated an outbreak that resulted from the spillage of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from a tanker at Ajegunle via Toll Gate Bus Stop, Abeokuta Expressway, Lagos.
“Reports made to the Agency around 02.16 hours Friday indicate that the incident occurred while the 45,000-capacity tanker was negotiating a bend along the highway to service Ayinde Oil Petrol Filling Station.
“The spillage spread through some makeshift structures on the roadside and attracted residents who risked their lives to scoop the PMS with containers of various types resulting in the ensuing Fire.
“Those involved in the nefarious act are warned to desist from putting their lives at risk.
The situation has been brought under control by the Agege, Ikeja, and Alausa Fire Fighting crews of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service.”
The Chief Fire Officer however charged the residents and motorists to exercise caution along the axis as the evacuation of the burnt tanker progresses, adding that outbound Lagos vehicular traffic has been temporarily diverted to inbound.
She claimed that the body of a male adult and three vehicles were recovered from the scene of the inferno. She also added that emergency responders are still at the scene to ensure that all hindrances to free movement and wreckage of the tanker are removed promptly.
