A major disaster was averted on Sunday when a petrol-laden tanker overturned and went up in flames at Iyana-Isolo in Oshodi, Lagos.
It was gathered that the tanker, which was conveying Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), reportedly lost control due to overspeeding while negotiating the inward Oshodi corridor.
It overturned and immediately caught fire, which spread to at least four other trucks parked nearby.
Emergency responders from the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, and police officers from Aswani, Ilasa, and Mushin Divisions, as well as the Neighbourhood Safety Corps, responded swiftly to contain the inferno and prevent further escalation.
“The burning tanker on the main carriageway of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Iyana-Isolo, has been successfully contained by the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service,” said the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service in a statement.
Also confirming the incident, the spokesperson of LASTMA, Adebayo Taofiq, said, “Preliminary intelligence has conclusively indicated that the disaster was precipitated by egregious overspeeding, which occasioned the driver’s loss of control whilst negotiating the inward Oshodi corridor,” Adebayo said.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr Olalekan Bakare-Oki, said additional personnel were deployed from adjoining zones to strengthen the emergency response. He confirmed that no lives were lost, attributing it to the prompt intervention that saw the area cordoned off and traffic diverted away from the scene.
Bakare-Oki, however, cautioned drivers of articulated vehicles and fuel tankers to observe statutory speed limits displayed on regulatory signage across the state. According to him, strict adherence to traffic rules remains vital to saving lives and preventing such avoidable disasters.
He also urged members of the public to make use of LASTMA’s toll-free hotline, 080000527862, for reporting traffic-related emergencies, assuring them that the agency is always prepared to respond swiftly.
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