The inferno destroyed nine vehicles and caused heavy traffic congestion. According to witnesses, the fire began at about 5 a.m.
Tessy Igomu
Another petrol tanker fire was recorded in Lagos yesterday along the Lagos-Badagry expressway. No loss of life was recorded in the fire said to have started in the early hours of the day after a tanker spilled its contents between Barracks and Onireke bus stops in Ojo Local Government Area.
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The inferno, however, destroyed nine vehicles and caused heavy traffic congestion. According to witnesses, the fire began at about 5 a.m. The vehicles destroyed included a Peugeot station wagon, a Space bus, a Mazda bus, a Toyota SUV and the contents of a Mack trailer conveying crates of drinks.
According to residents, who attributed the fire to the terrible state of road along the corridor, the Lagos State Fire Service was notified immediately the fire started but they could not do much as they ran out of water after battling the fire for hours.
Reacting to the incident, the Lagos State police public relations officer, CSP Chike Oti, said the attention of the command was called to the incident and its men were promptly dispatched to bring the situation under control. He confirmed that nine vehicles were involved in the fire and no life was lost.
The spokesman explained that, on arrival at the scene of the carnage, no fuel tanker was found or burnt as a result of the fire. He, however, disclosed that, in the evening of the previous day (Monday), a fuel truck was seen at the point where the fire began, with its content leaking uncontrollably from the storage tank.
“As a result, the fire service was called to attend to the situation. They arrived shortly and applied some foamy substances on the road. At the end of the exercise, both the fuel truck and the fire service men left without problems. Meanwhile, the commissioner of police, Lagos State, CP Edgal Imohimi, has directed the Disaster Management Unit of the command to investigate the cause of the fire in collaboration with relevant agencies,” he said.