Tanker fire explosion causes heavy gridlock on Lagos-Ibadan expressway

A large number of motorists and commuters were yesterday night held up in a gridlock caused by petroleum tanker explosion near the Kara Bridge, outward the Lagos end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. While the motorists could not abandon their vehicles, many commuters, however, resorted to trekking on the other lane inward Lagos.

The tanker fell and went up in flames on the long bridge at a crucial period when there is an influx of commuters on the road returning from work in Lagos. The incident occurred at about 7:15p.m. and saw many motorists scampering to safety to avoid being caught up in the explosion. Shortly after, another terrible accident occurred at Magboro road bend/diversion inward Lagos involving a truck carrying tomatoes and some vehicles.

It was observed that from the scene of the incident in Ogun State, the traffic stretched to Ogudu and Ikeja areas of Lagos State due to wild fire. As at press time, eyewitnesses told The Guardian that firefighters managed to arrive the scene at about 8:30p.m. about an hour after the explosion and were making frantic efforts to put out the fire while operatives of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) were battling to manage the traffic congestion.

The number of casualty could also not be ascertained as at press time yesterday.