Ebun Francis|
Not less than nine persons lost their lives in the tragic tanker explosion that occurred on Otedola Bridge along the Lagos- Ibadan express on Thursday evening.
Also, four other persons were injured in the inferno that engulfed the scene of the explosion.
The Federal Road Safety Corps spokesperson, Mr. Bisi Kazeem, who confirmed the number of the dead and injured also said that 54 vehicles were also burnt in the incident.
The affected vehicles comprised the fuel tanker, five buses, two trucks, one tricycle, and 45 cars.
The General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Services, Adesina Tiamiyu, also confirmed the figures.
Tiamayu said, “We got a distress call this afternoon concerning an accident at Otedola bridge, through our emergency control room, and we activated our emergency response from the information. When we got here, we saw that a tanker that fell, it spilled its content and there was explosion. 54 vehicles were completely burnt, nine burnt bodies were recovered, four people were rescued and they have been taken to the hospital.”
The accident caused a standstill traffic in surrounding environments like, Ojodu, Alausa, Berger, and as far as the third mainland bridge as police and other law enforcement battled to contain the fire and maintain order.