From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
No fewer than six persons have been confirmed dead, while four others sustained varying degrees of injuries following a tanker explosion that occurred yesterday morning along the Presidential Boulevard, Kuto axis of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Twelve vehicles and motorcycles were also razed when the 33,000 litre tanker’s brake failed while descending the Kuto overhead bridge, very close to a branch of GTB Bank.
Residents in the area scampered for safety while parents rushed to a private school located not far from the scene of the incident, to pick their children.
Men of the Federal and Ogun State Fire Services were at the scene of the incident to bring the raging fire under control while motorists were advised to ply alternative route.
Speaking with newsmen during on-the-spot assessment, the Ogun State Commissioner for Special Duties, Femi Ogunbanwo, said that the injured persons had been taken to the state hospital in Ijaye and being treated on government bill.
Also speaking at the scene, the Director of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Ige Olufolarin, confirmed the number of casualties, stressing that the accident was as a result of brake failure on the part of the tanker.
The state Director of Fire Service, Fatai Adefola, who also spoke with journalists after the fire had been put under control equally confirmed that six light trucks (cars) and six motorcycles were burnt alongside the petroleum tanker in the inferno.
