Two people sustained severe injuries after a diesel tanker fell off the Otedola Bridge on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Lagos and burst into a raging fire beneath the bridge.
According to the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), the intense blaze left both victims with extensive burn injuries, requiring their immediate rescue and urgent medical care.
Adebayo Taofiq, Director of LASTMA’s Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, stated that the agency’s emergency response team, working alongside other relevant authorities, quickly mobilized to the scene and successfully extricated the two victims from danger.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency’s Rescue Unit (LRU) subsequently evacuated the victims to the Lagos State Accident and Emergency Centre at Toll Gate for prompt medical attention, Taofiq added in a statement released Monday evening.
Other emergency and security agencies that participated in the coordinated rescue and containment operations included the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency’s Rescue Unit (LRU), the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency (Neighbourhood Watch) and Police personnel from the Alausa Police Division, the agency said.
The fire led motorists to reroute to avoid the affected section of the expressway. The development resulted in traffic gridlock on the bridge.
Monday’s fire incident is the latest in the long list of accidents in that stretch of the ever-busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which connects Lagos to other states in the South-West, South-East and South-South regions. The stretch has recorded several vehicle crashes, roll-overs and tanker explosions in recent years.
The most recent incident came after a 33,000-litre tanker overturned at Ojota Bridge, Lagos – about seven kilometres away from Otedola Bridge – spilling its groundnut oil content on the road. Authorities said the accident was due to a suspected brake failure.
Watch the video of the inferno below:
