Many people were reportedly feared dead after the explosion of a petrol-laden tanker in Lagos State’s Sari Iganmu region.
According to reports, the explosion occurred on Thursday evening.
The cause of the explosion is yet unknown, but emergency personnel responded on the spot to put out the fire. People wailed as videos of the blazing flames circulated online.
The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Services were on the scene fighting the fire.
The spokesperson for the agency, Shakiru Amodu, in a statement sent to our newsmen, said, “Tanker fire is being combatted at the Lagos Quadrapoint Bridge by the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, as Sari Iganmu and Ilupeju Fire fighters combine efforts to tame the raging fire.”
Confirming the incident, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, in a post on X, said, “A tanker has gone up in flames just before the Iganmu bridge from Sifax. LASTMA has already alerted the @LagosRescue. Our officers at the scene are doing their best to handle the situation. Motorists moving towards the location are advised to avoid the location and reroute their journey for safety.”
The spokesperson for the agency, Adebayo Taofiq, promised to get back to our correspondent when asked for details of the incident.
Spoking on the condition of anonymity, an eyewitness said, “The container was coming from Apapa. The container climbed the bridge leading to Orile, but it could not climb the bridge and fell off at the tail end of the bridge. It then collided with a fuel tanker, which burst into flames.”
The eyewitness added that about 10 vehicles were trapped with their occupants. “Fire service men from Iganmu station came to the scene,” he added.
