Lagos: Mile-Two Tanker Explosion Burnt Ten Articulated Vehicles
LAGOS OCTOBER 30TH (NEWSRANGERS)-No fewer than ten vehicles including Lacasera truck loaded with drinks were burnt in the wee hours of yesterday when a Premium Motor Spirit (PMS)-laden tanker exploded at Mile-Two Oke, on the Oshodi-Apapa expressway.
The explosion occurred around 1:00 a.m. when the tanker, said to have loaded products from a nearby tank farm, upturned while trying to navigate a bad portion of the highway. As soon as it fell, witnesses said it went up in flames with the fire following the trail of spilled PMS even to the other parts of the highway.
Although eyewitnesses claimed
no fewer than 10 vehicles were gutted by fire, including a truck belonging to
LACASERA with beverages loaded in it, LASEMA said only three vehicles were
affected.
It was gathered that most of the truck drivers were sleeping inside their
vehicles when they heard a loud bang that jolted them to reality, leading to a
stampede. While some of the drivers were able to speedily take their vehicles
off the express, some others waiting to be called into the ports were not
fortunate, as the fire, which spread to the other lanes, also affected them.
Giving an eyewitness account, a truck driver, Musa said: “My truck was
the fourth in the queue. I was waiting for those in front to pass the failed
section when I saw one of them fell. When the fire started, it caught the truck
that was beside the affected one.
“The driver
of another truck loaded with stationeries that was heading for Kaduna attempted
to drive into the LACASERA company, only for the fire to spread to it. The
driver and motor boy had to jump down, while the whole goods were burnt.
Another truck loaded with beverages was also burnt.
“I tried as much as I could to reverse when I saw the fire because my
truck was also loaded with petroleum products and I didn’t want it to explode.
But there were other vehicles behind me. At that point, the fire had spread to
the front of my truck. The only alternative I had was to jump out.
“People made calls to the fire service stations, but they came around 3
a.m. It was some firemen from LACASERA company that helped put out the fire. If
they were not there, it would have been terrible. Those that were injured were rushed
to the hospital.”
Motorists, who spoke to journalists, blamed the deplorable state of that
portion of the road for the disaster.
A motorist,
Saliu Mukaila, who lamented spending over 20 hours in and out of Apapa, said he
went to the ports to pick up cleared vehicles. He said he initially spent seven
hours to get to Mile Two from First Gate only to be trapped for another 13
hours as a result of the incident.
“Surviving in Nigeria is a big task. Governments are insensitive to the
plight of the commoners. Will lives to perish here before something urgent is
done? This road should have been fixed a long time ago, considering the
importance of this axis,” he lamented.
Confirming the incident, LASEMA boss said no life was lost, adding that
two tankers and a truck got burnt.
Meanwhile, two persons, whose identifies are yet to be known, were yesterday
crushed to death by a petrol-laden truck at Ureje, on the Ado-Ijan-Ikare road
in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
Involving a truck and a motorcycle, the accident caused traffic snarls on
the road linking the state capital to Kogi and Ondo states. Eyewitnesses said
the incident occurred when a bag of corn being conveyed by the victims
mistakenly hooked on the edge of the truck while in motion.
They added
that the motorcycle instantly fell under the truck and it ran over the two occupants,
leading to their death.
Sympathisers in the neighbourhood, who heard the loud bang, rushed to the
scene to see if life could be saved, but to no avail.
Also, seven persons died while 11 others sustained injuries in a motor
accident at Diggare Village in Kaugama Local Government Area of Jigawa State
yesterday.
The incident, which involved a Toyota Hummer bus with registration number ENU
684 EY, driven by one Aliyu Umar, was said to be coming from Lagos to Hadejia
Local Government Area.
Spokesman for the Jigawa State Police Command, SP Abdu Jinjiri, confirmed
the incident to newsmen. He said the accident happened when the bus driver lost
control and hit a tree.
He explained that as a result, seven persons died on the spot, including
the driver while 11 others sustained injuries. Jinjiri said the bodies had been
released to their relatives for burial.
Guardian
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