Lagos tanker fire injures three, razes three vehicles, 20 shops

THREE persons were injured yesterday at Olosa Bus Stop, Mushin Local Government after a petrol tanker, en route Oshodi, fell and went up in flames.

In the process, three commercial vehicles, 20 makeshift shops at the Awolowo market and property worth millions of naira were destroyed by the inferno, which started at about 1 a.m. yesterday.

It was gathered that the tanker carrying 33, 000 litres of petrol fell while trying to avoid a bad portion on the road, spilling its content into the blocked drainage channels. The fire broke out after the content from the tanker spilled on ashes dumped in the drainage a few meters away from the accident spot.

Sources said that two of the three injured persons were occupants of the tanker, while the third, identified as Joshua John, is a commercial bus driver trying to remove his vehicle from the scene.

The Federal and Lagos State Fire Service were able to put out the fire at 4 a.m. but no life was lost to the inferno.

John, one of the owners of the three commercial vehicles lamented that the inferno has claimed his source of livelihood.

He said: “I live at No. 1 Martins Street, a few metres away from where I parked my vehicle. And at about 12:45 am, all I heard was fire. Before I could run down here, the fire had already touched some parts of the vehicle.”

Another eyewitness, who identified himself as Sunday, lamented that the accident would not have occurred if the Federal Government had rehabilitate the road especially at the Olosa Bus Stop.

Confirming the incident, the Director of the Lagos State fire service, Rasak Fadipe and the General Manager of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Michael Akindele said that three vehicles were razed by the inferno.

Akindele said: “The incident occurred at about 12.15am today and was reported to the command and control centre. LASEMA Emergency Response Team activated its response and mobilized to the scene of the incident with the state fire service and was able to curtail the spread of the fire to Awolowo market and the surrounding building.”

The LASEMA General Manager, however, warned tanker drivers to adhere to safety measure while driving both day and night to avoid such disaster.