Another petrol tanker explodes in Lagos

A tanker laden with petrol on Thursday morning burst into flames on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Lagos causing panic among commuters plying the route.

The Acting Zonal Coordinator, South-West Zonal Office, NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye, confirmed this, saying the incident occurred about 9.15am, at Toyota Bus Stop, close to the Oshodi-Airport Road junction and directly in front of the Lagos State Fire Service Station located in the area.

He said the tanker was fully loaded with 44,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) when the incident occurred.

This is coming less than three weeks when a similar incident had occurred. Exactly on December 19, 2020, a diesel tanker exploded on the Michael Otedola Bridge of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. The tanker was fully loaded with 44,000 litres of AGO and was moving towards the Berger axis of the expressway when one of its tyres burst into flames.

Farinloye said the Thursday explosion occurred when “the tanker crashed on the side with another trailer on the motion. The trailer was fully loaded with iron rods.

”It is believed that the two vehicles were trying to outsmart each other before the incident happened.”

According to him, officials of the fire service have successfully separated the tanker body from the head and are making efforts to put out the inferno.

He said that no casualty had been confirmed yet from the incident.