From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
10 people have been confirmed dead in a tanker explosion which occurred at Araromi Town near the Sagamu Interchange on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway on early Thursday morning.
Mr Ahmed Umar, the Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), in Ogun confirmed the incident to newsmen in Abeokuta.
Umar noted that the accident occurred around Conoil Filling Station in Araromi on the expressway.
According to the sector commander, five vehicles were also involved in the incident.
He noted that the victims of the accidents were burnt beyond recognition.
The vehicles involved in the accident are: a Mack truck marked AKL 198 ZT, an Ivevo truck, a Mazda bus marked FFE 361 XB, an unmarked Howo truck and the tanker.
He attributed the cause of the accident to excessive speed on the part of the Iveco truck.
According to him, the driver of the Iveco truck which was travelling at top speed lost control and rammed into the tanker which resulted in the fire outbreak due to leakage.
He added that the Mazda bus was engulfed by the fire, saying that all those that died were in the bus.
“The suspected cause of the multiple crashes was excessive speed which led to the loss of control on the part of the Iveco truck and smashed the tanker body which resulted in a fire outbreak due to leakage.
“The Mazda bus got engulfed in the spark of the fire,” he said.
He added that the deceased was taken to the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu.
Umar expressed his condolences to the family of the victims after visiting the scene of the incident.
He, however, advised motorists to drive cautiously, obey traffic rules and regulations as well as consider road users while driving.