Three people have been burned to death while four others are battling injuries in an accident involving a fuel tanker in Ogun State.
According to reports, four others were injured and 12 vehicles burnt in the inferno, as goods worth millions of naira were destroyed.
The tragedy struck in the early hours of Thursday, when a fuel tanker exploded while ascending the Toll Gate end of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Ogun State.
The driver of the truck was one of the victims together with a tricycle rider (Keke Marwa) which the tanker fell on.
According to a witness, the truck driver trapped inside his vehicle was burnt beyond recognition before any help could come, while the other victims were rescued.
The Punch correspondent who visited the scene gathered that the tanker driver, who was driving outward Lagos, sighted some money-seeking miscreants close to the Toll Gate and tried to avoid them.
He was said to have driven at top speed and veered into the Ilo Awela Road.
The tanker, laden with 35,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) reportedly upturned while ascending the sloppy road and spilled its content, which led to the fire.
An eyewitness, Salim Abass said: “The driver of the loaded PMS tanker was coming from Lagos, heading to Ota as he approached the hill at the Ilo-Awela junction where the incident occured,the truck developed a mechanical fault , rolled back and fell on a side, spilling its content on the road which resulted into fire explosion in the process.
“Property lost in the inferno, apart from the full loaded Mack tanker include, GGE 428 XP commercial yellow Volkswagen LT Bus, two TVS Tricycle, two Motorcycle Boxer, and three commercial luxurious busses”.
Another eyewitness, Segun Omojagun, said the accident was caused by the miscreants.
He said: “The incident happened around past 1am and was caused by some area boys who extort money from truck drivers at night close to the Toll Gate. The tanker driver was trying to escape from them while driving fast. But by the time he got to the junction, he could not control his speed. That was how he drove into the bend, lost control and tumbled. The area boys ran away immediately the incident happened.”
Punch Metro gathered that some vehicles and tricycles parked around the area got burnt.
Three BRT buses parked some meters away from the spot were also destroyed by the fire.
A middle-aged man, identified simply as Murphy, was said to have died while asleep in one of the tricycles.
Another transport worker, identified as Roadside, was said to be battling with his life after the fire caught up with him while also sleeping in his tricycle.
A motorcyclist and one other unidentified person also died in the fire.
A tricycle rider, Samson Oludairo, said his tricycle and his wife’s goods were destroyed by the fire.
He said: “I also got to know that my friend, who was sleeping in his tricycle got burnt to death. The other person who was also in one of the tricycles is now battling for his life. He was rejected by some hospitals he was taken to this morning, including FMC, before he was referred to LUTH. These people could not go home because they came from a long distance.”
The fire also gutted some containerised shops by the roadside, as the owners counted their losses.
A shop owner, who gave her name only as Alhaja Ariyike, said the Ogun State Fire Service did not show up.
He said: “We have lost goods worth millions of naira to the fire. We called the Ogun State Fire Service, but they did not show up. They said there was no fuel and water. It was the Lagos State Fire Service that eventually showed up to put out the fire.”
Another shop owner, who did not provide her name as she wept uncontrollably, said she just stocked her shop with goods after borrowing money from a microfinance bank.
She said: “I am the only one taking care of my four children. I borrowed money from LAPO to stock my shop and everything has been destroyed. Where do I start from? How do I refund the money?”
Moses Bolajoko, who also owns a shop and operates a lotto kiosk, said he had lost four terminals to the fire.
He said: “We want you to help us appeal to our government. We have also been trying to know who owns the tanker, but the number plate has been removed. The police said there is nothing they can do to trace the owner.”
TRACE Area Commander, Mr. Ajibade Adekunle, said the inferno has been subsequently put out by the combined efforts of the Ogun State fire service in collaboration with Lagos state fire service, LASEMA with assistance from security agencies including TRACE and FRSC.
According to Ajibade, TRACE and all the security and safety agencies have been on ground since the night and are still on standby monitoring the axis still day break for the cooling of the burnt vehicles as well as to remove all the carcass at the scene of the incident.
He said the scene of the incident has been condoned off by the security and safety agencies on ground monitoring the axis and redirecting vehicles to Sango under bridge to access Ota.
Meanwhile, the injured victims have been taken to the state hospital Ota, and according to TRACE Area Commander, efforts are still on to bag the bodies by safety agencies on ground, as well as clearing all the affected vehicles from the road and by the road side.