Five vehicles were burnt in the raging inferno, and victims of the accident burnt beyond recognition.
By Saidu Idris
365Daily – At least 10 people were burnt to death on Thursday morning, October 20, 2022, in a tanker explosion which occurred around Conoil, Araromi, on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The Sector Commander of Ogun State Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Ahmed Umar, confirmed the incident to newsmen in Abeokuta.
Umar said that five vehicles were burnt in the raging inferno, and victims of the accident burnt beyond recognition.
According to him, the vehicles involved in the accident are a Mack truck marked AKL 198 ZT; an Iveco truck with no registration number; a Mazda bus marked FFE 361 XB, an unmarked Howo truck and the Mack tanker.
He said the driver of the Iveco truck caused the accident after he lost control of the vehicle due to overspeeding, and ran into the tanker, which exploded and caused a fire outbreak due to fuel leakage.
The Sector Commander added that the Mazda bus was engulfed by the fire, saying that all those that died were in the bus.
“The suspected cause of the multiple crash was excessive speed which led to loss of control on the part of the Iveco truck and smashed the tanker body which resulted to fire outbreak due to leakage. The Mazda bus got engulfed in the spark of the fire,” Umar said.
He added that the deceased were taken to the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, while commiserating with families of the victims.
Umar advised motorists to drive cautiously, obey traffic rules and regulations, and as well consider other road users while driving.
Umar said: “The rescue operation is still on and people involved were yet to be confirmed because a bus is also involved.
“The crash scene was cordoned off to avoid secondary crash as traffic has been diverted.
“Men of Fire Service have arrived at the scene and effort is being made to put out the fire. Traffic has been temporarily diverted at Lufuwape U-turn to ease the traffic situation,” he said.
Earlier, the FRSC had advised motorists and public to use alternative routes on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway due to the tanker explosion.