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Another petrol tanker explosion causes havoc in Lagos

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No fewer than two persons and five vehicles were burnt on Wednesday morning at Barracks Bus Stop, along Mile 2 on Badagry Expressway after a 33,000 litre fuel tanker fell and exploded.

The Director of Lagos State Fire Service, Mr Musibau Rasaki confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), saying that his men had been battling to put off the fire from spreading to other areas.

“Two persons were burnt to death, one other person sustained injury and was taken to the hospital. Five vehicles were also burnt, including the tanker,” he said.

NAN had earlier gathered that the five vehicles ran into the spilled contents on the road and ignited fire, while some of the motorists were lucky to escape, two were burnt beyond recognition.

The accident had brought traffic on the ever busy Expressway to a halt, forcing commuters to come down from public vehicles to cross the scene of the accident to continue their journey.

The Governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos, Mr. Jimi Agbaje , has commiserated with families of victims of Wednesday’s dawn tanker explosion in Ojo area of the state.

Agbaje said: “I am heartbroken by the news of the incident. I have been informed that two people were killed as well as several vehicles burnt. Our heart goes to their families and we pray that God will console and comfort them.”

He called on the state government to immediately implement laws restricting the movement of articulated vehicles in the state in order to reduce such incidents.

According to him, the casualty figure would have been much higher had the incident happened outside the wee hours of the morning when the tanker exploded around 4am, as reported by emergency response agency personnel.

A statement issued by the Media Office of the Jimi Agbaje Campaign Organisation on Wednesday carpeted the state government for its lukewarm attitude towards implementing that portion of the law regulating traffic in the state.

Enacted seven years ago, the Road Traffic Law 2012 in Section 2, banned articulated vehicles, especially vehicles equipped with more than one rear axle or six tyres, from plying the Lagos metropolis between 6am and 9pm.

Agbaje mourned the death of the duo reportedly killed in the resultant inferno that engulfed the area when the fuel-laden vehicle spilled its contents.

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