A major disaster was averted on Sunday when a petrol-laden tanker overturned and exploded around Iyana-Isolo inward Oshodi, Lagos, sparking a fire that consumed four parked trucks but, remarkably, left no casualties.
According to the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), the driver was at fault. Adebayo Taofiq, the agency’s spokesperson, confirmed:
“Preliminary intelligence has conclusively indicated that the disaster was precipitated by egregious over speeding, which occasioned the driver’s loss of control whilst negotiating the inward Oshodi corridor.”
Taofiq said LASTMA operatives quickly mobilised emergency responders, including the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, officers of the Nigeria Police Force (Aswani, Ilasa, and Mushin divisions), and the Neighbourhood Safety Corps.
“In an immediate display of coordinated emergency management, LASTMA operatives under the direct supervision of the Agency’s operational command swiftly galvanized allied responders,” he added.
“These included the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, officers of the Nigeria Police Force from Aswani, Ilasa, and Mushin divisions, alongside vigilant personnel of the Neighbourhood Safety Corps, all of whom collectively subdued the inferno and precluded its escalation into a greater tragedy.”
Olalekan Bakare-Oki, LASTMA’s General Manager, confirmed that additional operatives were deployed to strengthen containment measures.
“He further affirmed, with relief, that no human casualty was recorded, largely owing to LASTMA’s prompt intervention in cordoning off the affected corridor and restricting vehicular movement from Ilasa inward Oshodi,” the statement noted.
