Five vehicles, three shops and one house
in Ojuelegba, Lagos were burnt on Saturday after a tanker containing
33,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, spilled and
caught fire.
The General Manager, Lagos State
Emergency Management Agency, Michael Akindele, told our correspondent in
a telephone interview that though no injury or death was recorded, a
couple who occupied the house were taken to the hospital for medical
check-up.
He said, “At about 2:15 am, we got a
distress call through our toll-free number, 767, about a fallen trailer
at Ojuelegba en route to Moshalashi.
“The incident occurred in front of the
Federal Fire Service, as the truck was ascending the bridge when it
fell. There was a spillage. Immediately, we alerted the emergency
responders, including our response team, the (state) fire service, the
Lagos State Transport Management Authority and the police.”
Akindele added that the spillage travelled through the drainage towards the Shitta area.
According to him, between 4 am and 5 am,
LASEMA was informed that some people were cooking and smoking around
Shitta, leading to the black smoke fire explosion.
“We were on the ground before the fire
outbreak. The petrol spill might have been as a result of reckless
driving. The police are conducting investigations into it. The driver of
the trailer is in the custody of the police for further investigations.
“No life was lost and nobody was
injured, but there was a house that was burnt. Five vehicles, including
four cars and one civilian bus, were also burnt.
“The occupants of the affected building,
including a husband and his wife, who appeared to be in shock, were
taken to Randle Health Centre for a check-up. Already, we have prepared
for them a place for immediate assistance at our relief camp in Igando,”
the LASEMA boss said.
He noted that an emergency orientation exercise was conducted soon after the incident to prevent a recurrence.
Akindele added, “People need to be
careful especially because this is the harmattan season. Drivers need to
be avoid reckless driving and obey (traffic) rules. Owners of trucks
and trailers need to ensure they put only vehicles that are okay on the
road.”
According to the Public Relations
Officer, LASEMA, Mr. Kehinde Adebayo, a family of three, including Mr.
Abayomi Jinadu, his wife, Rita, and their asthmatic 19-year-old son,
Sanmi, who occupied the affected house, was rushed to the hospital for
medical attention after the fire outbreak.
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