At least thirty people have tragically died in a fuel tanker explosion on the Agaie-Bida Road in Niger State during the early hours of Sunday morning.
The incident occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 8, 2024, along the Lapai-Agaie Road, about 2 kilometers from Dendo Community.
The explosion was caused by a collision between a petrol tanker and a trailer truck transporting travelers and cattle from Kano to Lagos.
Mallam Abdullahi Baba-Arab, Director-General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), confirmed the incident in a statement provided to the media on Sunday.
The statement from NSEMA noted: “NSEMA has received a report regarding a catastrophic tanker explosion that transpired on Sunday, 8th September 2024, at around 12:30 am along the Lapai-Agaie road, 2 kilometres from the Dendo Community in Agaie LGA.
“The incident happened when a petrol tanker loaded with PMS collided with a trailer truck carrying travellers and cattle from Wudil, Kano State, heading to Lagos. Two other vehicles, a crane truck and a pickup van, were also involved in the incident.
“Over 30 people have already been confirmed dead, with more than 50 cattle burnt alive. NSEMA’s Rapid Response Team (RRT), in conjunction with LGEMCs, is still at the scene conducting search and rescue operations, as more bodies remain trapped inside the vehicles.
This comes barely 24 hours after 3 vehicles, one tricycle and two motorcycles were burnt after a petrol-laden tanker exploded in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.
The incident occurred after the tanker’s driver was attempting to divert to another lane when it caught fire.
A witness, Biodun Ayoola, said that all the occupants of the affected vehicles and cycles hurriedly took to their heels on sighting the petrol tanker on fire.
According to Mr Ayoola, the ongoing construction of a pedestrian bridge at Ajia junction caused the contractor to block one lane, diverting vehicles to the other lane.
“The petrol tanker caught fire while trying to link the other lane and exploded but we thank God that all the occupants of the affected vehicles and motorcycles escaped from the scene before the explosion,” he said.
In a similar development, three persons were confirmed dead with others sustaining injuries when an oil tanker rammed into 10 vehicles in Maryland axis of Lagos.
Confirming the tragic incident, the Head of the Public Affairs Unit, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, (LASEMA), Nosa Okunbor, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
He noted that the first accident occurred when a diesel-laden tanker experienced a brake failure and rammed into several vehicles, resulting in the death of three persons and injuring an unspecified number of others.
Okunbor narrated that upon the LASEMA team’s arrival at the scene around 1am, they discovered another crash involving a containerised truck that had collided with a MACK truck, leaving the container truck driver with a leg injury.
“Upon the arrival of the LASEMA Response Teams at the scene of the incident at 0113hrs, 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.
He, however, 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.
Similarly, 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.
