Two burnt to death, many vehicles razed in Lagos-Ibadan road tanker explosion

• Firefighters pull out as miscreants attack LASEMA rescue team

A fuel tanker exploded in the early hours of Saturday at the Kara end of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, claiming two lives and razing scores of vehicles.

Two people were said to have been burnt to death in the accident.

The tanker reportedly fell on its side and spilt its content which later sparked off the fire.

Spokesperson for the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, Babatunde Akinbiyi, who confirmed the incident, said one other person that sustained injury had been taken to the Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital, along with the remains of the two dead victims.

The fire caused a heavy traffic on both sides of the road as many people trying to make use of the road got stuck.

Desperate motorists heading towards Ibadan, approaching the Kara Bridge, resorted to driving against the traffic, and this reportedly compounded the traffic situation.

Firefighters, who arrived at the scene around 1.05am when many vehicles had been engulfed in the fire, had a difficult time trying to put out the fire.

The rescue team claimed they were attacked by hoodlums, vandalised their vehicles and had to pull out when they could no longer bear it.

Personnel of the Federal Road Safety Corps also came to the accident scene to clear the debris away from the road.

There are fears that the frequency of accidents involving fuel tankers on the Kara bridge and other bridges on the Lagos-Ibadan road could affect the integrity of the bridges.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency claimed its men, who were on the accident scene around 01.05am to intervene, were attacked by miscreants.

It stated this via its Twitter handle, saying, “The agency responded to the incident at 0105hrs this morning according to the state emergency response plan.

“The joint team (agency + @LAG_FireService) was waylaid on arrival by a group of miscreants brandishing weapons, and was forced to seek extra police cover from the Isheri Police Station.

“The operation commenced with the police protection until the group of assailants grew larger and caused significant damage to vehicles and threats to lives of our personnel. The team was forced to suspend the recovery operation for safety reasons.

“It is of note that this attack is part of a very worrisome trend of first responders being attacked in the course of their duties.

“Lagosians are urged to refrain from endangering the lives of emergency responders.”