An explosion from two tankers loaded with petroleum products rocked the Sari Iganmu area of Lagos, Thursday night, destroying nine vehicles in the resultant inferno. The raging fire sent fear into residents of Moshood Abiola Way, opposite Fashola estate and Ijora, over possible escalation due to spillage of the combustive content.
However, no casualty was recorded according to the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, contrary to rumour that several persons were burnt to death. There were however different versions as to how the incident happened. An account said one of the trucks was stationed without a caution to alert oncoming vehicles. Driver of another truck collided with the parked truck and the impact of the collision ignited balls of fire.
Another account said a truck loaded with combustive substance was rolling back when an oncoming one loaded with detergent and sardines collided with it.
The Director Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Adeseye Margret, in a statement “Eleven vehicles were destroyed. They include: two tankers, one tipper truck, three trailers, three cars and two micro-mini buses popularly known as korope.
“While an earlier incident on the Lagos- Ibadan expressway was successfully completed having evacuated the tanker and bus without resulting to fire, same cannot be said with the Iganmu fire outbreak..
“But there was no life lost and no injury recorded, as occupants in the vehicles escaped unhurt. “The raging fire has been curtailed, the dampening of pockets of fire still continues, to allow for investigation that will reveal the cause and the evacuation of the carcass to bring about normalcy”.
A fully laden 45,000 liters tanker experienced a mechanical fault while ascending the quadrapont bridge. This led to its roll back, causing it to hit another tanker and a faulty container