It was a sad day at the weekend, when a fuel tanker fell on a commercial bus while trying to navigate a bad portion of Kola Bus-Stop on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway inward Sango, claiming the life of a female passenger.
In statement, released on Sunday, by Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), which confirmed the incident, stated that it received a distress call at 16:30hours on Saturday through the agency’s 112/767 toll-free lines.
LASEMA said it activated the Lagos State Emergency Response Plans, arriving at the incident scene with all necessary light and heavy duty equipment, adding that upon arrival of the agency’s LRT at the incident scene, it was observed that a white MACK petroleum oil tanker, registration number unknown, laden to capacity with 45,000 litres of Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS, a white Hi-Ace interstate bus, registration number EPE 958 YD and a commercial Volkswagen Vanagon bus with registration number JJJ 270 YD, were involved in a road traffic accident at the scene.
Investigations conducted at the incident scene revealed that the accident occurred when the oil tanker was traversing an undulating portion of the road and fell on two commercial buses killing an adult female in the process, while other lucky occupants of the two buses escaped unhurt.
It stated that during the tedious overnight recovery operation, the agency’s Response Teams were engaged in a running battle with the rampaging miscreants who were debarred from scooping fuel.
The agency lamented that rampaging miscreants employed all forms of tactics in attempts to disrupt the operation in a hostile environment, stressing that this included barring recovery of the commodity, before it was finally extricated and handed over to Police Officers from Ojokoro Police Station.
“LASEMA coordinated the recovery operation, putting all necessary precautionary measures in place and barring all activities that could lead to an explosion of the fallen oil tanker that was leaking PMS, through sparks and ignition of the spilled PMS. The agency deployed its heavy duty sophisticated equipment “Elephant” for swift recovery of the fallen oil tanker, immediately after trans-loading the remaining contents, while the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Services blanketed the oil tanker all through the recovery process,” the agency said.
LASEMA further stated that the fallen oil tanker has been recovered successfully, with the salvaged contents trans-loaded into two 20,000 litre oil tankers and safely driven off the incident scene.
The agency said that the entire area has been well blanketed by Lagos Fire and Rescue Services to ensure safety.
“The Agency’s LRT conducted a post-recovery assessment to confirm total safety of residents and road users in the axis. All secondary incidents have been averted and the road has been fully re-opened to the public for vehicular activities,’’ it revealed.
