At least three persons were confirmed dead, with others sustaining injuries, when an oil tanker rammed into 10 vehicles in the Maryland axis of Lagos on Sunday.
Confirming the tragic incident, the Head of the Public Affairs Unit, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Nosa Okunbor, revealed this in a statement on Sunday.
He stated that the first disaster occurred when a diesel-laden tanker failed to halt and collided with several vehicles, killing three people and injuring an unknown number.
Okunbor stated that when the LASEMA team arrived at the scene about 1 a.m., they discovered another incident involving a containerised truck that crashed with a MACK vehicle, leaving the container truck driver with a leg injury.
“Upon the arrival of the LASEMA Response Teams at the scene of the incident at 0113 hrs, the LRT encountered a multiple-vehicle accident involving an oil tanker, registration number unknown, fully laden with diesel.
“The tanker reportedly suffered a mechanical failure (brake failure) while in motion, lost control, and crashed into several cars, resulting in numerous casualties.
“The second accident involved an articulated truck, registration number unknown, carrying a fully loaded 40-foot container, which reportedly collided with a MACK truck, also unregistered, loaded with refill industrial bottles. The crash was attributed to reckless driving and speeding.
“Sadly, three fatalities were reported in the multiple accidents, with the bodies removed before the LRTs arrived. An unspecified number of people were critically injured and had already been taken to various hospitals by the time the LRTs reached the scene,” the LASEMA spokesman stated.
However, he listed the vehicles involved in the accidents as two Volkswagen Vanagon commercial buses, one Mitsubishi Space Bus, two mini-buses (popularly known as Korope), and one Honda car.
In the same vein, he added that emergency responders were able to secure the area and implement critical safety and traffic control measures, which led to the temporary closure of the road and bridge.
“Recovery efforts for the accident trucks and other vehicles began immediately upon the arrival of equipment at the scene.
“The two LASEMA Response Teams, along with other responders, worked tirelessly to recover all vehicles involved in the road accident and to alleviate the traffic gridlock caused by the incident,” he added.
