The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Tuesday confirmed six tankers, five trucks and two cars destroyed in a tanker explosion at Ogere on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
FRSC sector commander in Ogun, Ahmed Umar, confirmed the incident, saying the disaster occurred at about 6.20 a.m.
Umar said the explosion occurred in front of Romona trailer park on the expressway.
Giving update, Umar said one person was rescued and taken to a private hospital in Ogere.
While it lasted, the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), advised motorists to use alternative routes, as traffic build-up became unbearable for hundreds of vehicles trapped in the process.
TRACE spokesman, Babatunde Akinbiyi explained that the tanker which was laden with fuel suddenly burst into flames affecting other vehicles.
“Vehicles moving inbound Lagos should go through Saapade-Ode/Remo-Iperu-Sagamu to relink Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
“In addition, vehicles moving inbound Ibadan should also go through Sagamu-Iperu-Ode/Remo-Saapade to relink Lagos-Ibadan Expressway,’’ Akinbiyi said.
The incident was the fifth of such tragedies involving fuel tankers in the Lagos and Ogun State axis since the beginning of the year. A similar fuel tanker-related fire was recorded on January 7 on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway.
On March 21, a fuel tanker was the cause of the fire on Otedola Bridge, also on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in which many vehicles were burnt. On March 25, a diesel-laden tanker went up in flames at the Ikotun area of Lagos, leading to the incineration of other vehicles and shops.
On June 17, fire from the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant at the Ogun State Property Investments Corporation (OPIC) Plaza in Lagos trailed a leaking gas truck which was on motion in the area. This resulted in a fire snowball which engulfed many other vehicles and property.
Twenty-five cars were destroyed in the OPIC Plaza inferno, while 13 persons, mostly workers in the restaurant, sustained burn injuries, with five confirmed dead.
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