Two people have been burnt to death while 12 vehicles were gutted by fire in a petrol tanker explosion that occurred at the Sango-Ota Old Toll Gate Plaza, along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway in Ogun State.
The incident occurred early Thursday morning, leaving three other people with burns.
Adeseye Margaret, the Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, said the incident resulted after the tanker, carrying 33,000 litres of petrol, lost control and upturned while ascending a slope.
Ms Adeseye added that the tanker burst into flames, which spread and engulfed three LAGBUS buses, a Volkswagen commercial bus, an undisclosed number of motorcycles, and five tricycles parked about 300 metres away from the scene.
She also said that the fire also affected some make-shift shops situated by the roadside.
The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service boss further disclosed that fire fighters from the Agege Fire Station were the first responders before being backed by their colleagues from the Alausa and Ikeja Fire Stations, respectively.
“The fire was extinguished at about 03:59 hours before the second phase of recovery,” she said. “Consequently, two male adults of about 45 and 38 years old were recovered severely burnt, while mopping up exercise continues to evacuate the remains and clear the ever busy road.”
She added that personnel of the Federal Road Safety Corps and other emergency responders collaborated “to bring the operations to a logical conclusion.”
