It
was black Thursday in Lagos yesterday, when a fully-loaded 33,000-litre
fuel tanker exploded on Otedola Bridge along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway,
killing many people and razing about 67 vehicle.
Rescue workers at the scene of the Lagos tanker fire
Witnesses and survivors have recounted the horrific fire from an oil tanker that killed nine people and destroyed 54 cars when the tanker fell on Otedola Bridge along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Thursday evening.
According to report by Vanguard, an eyewitness identified as
Adewale Adesanya, who spoke to the publication, 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.”
Another witness identified as Maria Oje, described her escape as
the handiwork of God, adding that 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, who is another witness 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. “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.”
(NAN)
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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