A fuel tanker which reportedly went up in flames at the Oshodi area of Lagos at the wee hours of Tuesday has claimed one life after burning three trucks.
PM News reports that the tanker was loaded with 33, 000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), better known as petrol.
It was said to have fallen at a bend behind NAFDAC office in Oshodi, spilling its content on the road. An emergent spark from a truck’s silencer broke out fire.
General Manager (GM), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Michael Akindele told the newspaper Wednesday morning that a smaller truck driver who wanted to overtake, had a spark from his vehicle’s silencer which allegedly ignited the fire.
Akindele noted that three trucks were burnt by the fire but that with the efforts of LASEMA officials and fire service men, the fire was prevented from spreading and causing more damage, adding that the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officials and others were still on ground trying to remove the burnt vehicles from the highway.
He also noted that a man trying to scoop fuel from the spillage was burnt to death, while the drivers of the three vehicles escaped unhurt.
The GM, however, warned ‘Lagosians’ to be wary of scooping fuel whenever a tanker spills its content as they would never know when it would result to fire.
Akindele also lamented that the life lost could have been prevented if the man had not attempted to collect fuel from the spillage.
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