Breaking: Fuel tanker explosion again in Lagos

Another fuel tanker explosion has been reported in Lagos Badagry Expressway on Tuesday morning.

Casualty has not been ascertained, but unconfirmed reports say four tankers were involved in the accident and many commercial buses were up in flames.

Details on the latest accident later, but the last fatal oil tanker explosion occured on June 29 in Lagos and was reported to have killed many people and destroyed 54 cars when the tanker fell on Otedola Bridge along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

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.