Emergency responders in the Surulere area of Lagos State successfully prevented what could have been considered a tragic event on Tuesday.
A tanker truck carrying Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, overturned while in transit on Stadium Bridge heading towards Barracks/Ojuelegba along Funsho Williams Avenue in Surulere, Lagos. This incident was officially confirmed by the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) in a statement released on Tuesday.
Adebayo Taofiq, the Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment for LASTMA, provided details about the incident, including the tanker’s registration number, which is T-22032EA “fell on a Golf Volkswagen car (KRD 810 EA) and had its contents spreading over the other side of the expressway”.
To avert the risk of another potential fire explosion, Taofiq reported that additional emergency responders, including the LASTMA Response Unit (LRU) and the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Services, promptly arrived at the location.
He also pointed out that officers from the Area ‘C’ Police Division at the Barracks provided security support at the scene, while @LagosRescue handled necessary tasks. Furthermore, he mentioned that motorists traveling towards Stadium Bridge heading to Barracks/Ojuelegba on Funsho Williams Avenue were redirected to use the service lane to continue their journey safely.
“After arriving at the scene, our personnel immediately secured the environment against area boys including other members of the public who had already gathered with buckets/jerry cans to scoop spreading fuel on the road,” he stated.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the falling Coniol tanker loaded fuel at Apapa and was on its way to Ikeja before the truck developed a break failure on Stadium Bridge,
“Traffic Officer Olukoga Olajide who led LASTMA rescue operations to the scene confirmed that the driver of the falling Coniol tanker (Sefiyu Adamu) was arrested and handed over to Apapa and was on his way to Ikeja before the truck developed a brake failure on Stadium Bridge,” he stated.