…12 vehicles, motorcycles razed
Six persons have been confirmed dead while four others sustained varying degrees of injuries following a tanker explosion that occurred on Tuesday morning, along the Presidential Boulevard, Kuto axis of Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.
Twelve vehicles and motorcycles were also razed when a 33,000-liter tanker lost control while descending the Kuto overhead bridge, very close to a branch of GTB Bank.
Residents in the area scampered for safety, while parents rushed to a private school located not far from the scene of the incident to pick their children.
Men of the Federal and Ogun State Fire Services were at the scene of the incident to bring the raging fire under control, while motorists were advised to ply the alternative route.
Speaking with newsmen during the on-the-spot assessment, the Ogun Commissioner for Special Duties, Femi Ogunbanwo, said that the injured persons have been taken to the State Hospital in Ijaye and were being treated on a government bill.
Also speaking at the scene, the Director of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Ige Olufolarin, confirmed the number of casualties, stressing that the accident was a result of brake failure on the part of the tanker.
The State Director of Fire Service, Fatai Adefola, who also spoke with journalists after the fire had been put under control equally confirmed that a total number of six light trucks (cars), as well as six motorcycles, were burnt alongside the petroleum tanker in the inferno.
