1 burnt to death, 5 trucks razed in Lagos tanker fire

A tanker fire has burnt one person to death and razed five trucks at Kirikiri area of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

The incident took place around 4.20pm on Saturday, when a tanker conveying Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, fell while trying to navigate the Kirikiri road.

As it fell, the tanker caught fire in the process leading to the burning of another truck conveying gas and three other container trucks.

General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Adesina Tiamiyu said the agency received an alert via its control and command centre of a burning PMS tanker at about 4:20 pm.

“This prompted the activation of the Agency’s Emergency Rescue Team, ERT. Investigation at the scene revealed that a tanker conveying PMS fell while trying to navigate the Kirikiri road, ignited fire in the process, leading to the burning of one other trailer conveying gas and three other containerised trucks,” he said.

Tiamiyu disclosed that one person was burnt to death in the process, while fire service men battled to put out the fire.

“One fatality has been recorded so far. The unidentified person was completely burnt to death with the fire also burning about five trucks around the scene. However, spreading of the inferno to a nearby cargo storage facility was halted by the Lagos State fire service, NPA fire service, the Agency’s Emergency Response Team and the police men on ground,” he said.

Tiamiyu advised articulated vehicles and truck owners to ensure proper checks on their vehicles to ensure that they were roadworthy, adding that they should engage experienced drivers to reduce the incessant accident on Lagos road.

-Kazeem Ugbodaga