At least four persons were on Tuesday morning, confirmed dead, while four others sustained varying degrees of injuries when a 33, 000 litres petroleum laden tanker exploded in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.
The fire incident, which occurred around 8.15 am in the neighbourhood of Kuto market -the State Library and the Command headquarters of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), all along the Presidential Boulevard, Abeokuta metropolis of the state capital, also razed down six cars and six commercial motorcycles.
InsightnaijaTV gathered that the 33, 000 litres petroleum laden tanker, suspected to be coming from Mosinmi depot in Sagamu developed a brake failure while descending the Kuto overhead bridge, thereby making the driver to lose control and tumbled to the other lane where it rammed over the oncoming vehicles who were mostly civil servants going to their respective offices.
The development also caused confusion within the metropolis, particularly when parents started rushing to get their children from one of the private schools in that neighbourhood.
It however, took the combined efforts of men of the Federal and State Fire Services to bring the raging fire under control, while vehicular movements were diverted to the alternative routes.
Commenting on the development Ogun Commissioner for Special Duties, Barr. Femi Ogunbanwo, who was at the scene of the incident said that the injured persons have been taken to the State Hospital in Ijaiye, Abeokuta where they were being treated “on government bill”.
Meanwhile, the state governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun on Tuesday, ordered a complete restrictions of movements of articulated vehicles from all the overhead bridges across the state following the petroleum tanker fire disasters which occurred at the early hours of Tuesday in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.
Abiodun gave the order when he made an on-the-spot assessment to the scene of the accident with the purpose of ascertaining the cause and ways of preventing a future occurrence of such calamity.
