Petrol tanker kills one in Ijebu-Ode

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A tanker loaded with fuel on Tuesday exploded on the Erunwon highway in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun state, killing one person and injuring two persons.

A witness, who identified himself as Adenuga Abayomi, said that the tanker, which was coming from Erunwon, fell when it was trying to negotiate a roundabout.

Abayomi explained that when the tanker fell, the petrol inside it poured out trapping the driver and two other passengers.

“ When the tanker fell, we tried to rescue those trapped inside, but we were able to rescue two while we could not rescue the third person who is a motor boy before the tanker exploded. The explosion would have been prevented if a pick up van which we asked to stop obeyed us. It was the emission from the pick up that sparked off the explosion,’’ he said.

It took the intervention of the State Fire Service to put out the fire while the FRSC and the Ogun State Traffic Compliance Agency had a hectic time controlling traffic.

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Mr Issa Seidu, the Ijebu-Ode Unit commander of FRSC, said the accident was caused by brake failure of the tanker.

Seidu said the explosion was as a result of the smoke emission from other vehicles plying the other side of the road. “ The explosion was a clear case of brake failure of the tanker. It was the smoke emission from other vehicles that sparked off the fire on the road,’’ he said.

Also speaking, Mr Hamzat Tommy, the Ijebu-Ode Zonal Commander of the state Traffic Compliance Enforcement, who gave the number plate of the tanker as XC 577 WWW, described the incident as unfortunate.

Tommy said the body of the only victim had been deposited at the General Hospital mortuary in Ijebu-Ode.

The Ogun Deputy Speaker, Mr Tola Banjo, who visited the scene, also described the incident as unfortunate.
“It is an unfortunate incident but at the same time it is a preventable one. It would have been averted if not for the careless attitude of other drivers whose vehicle emission sparked off the fire,’’ he said.

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