A woman has died after a petrol tanker fell on Friday morning around the Nigerian Army Signal Barracks in Mile 2 area of Lagos.
The tanker is believed to have been carrying about 55,000 litres of petrol to a destination in the state when the driver rammed into a pothole around 12.30 am and lost control of the vehicle.
The tanker, it was learnt, fell and trapped the woman who was seated beside the driver and his assistant. Director-General of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu said the driver and his assistant fled from the scene of the crash. “Upon the arrival of LASEMA Response Team at the scene, it was discovered that a tanker with number plate KSF 260 XY loaded with 55,000 litres of petrol, rammed into a pothole directly in front of the Nigerian Army Signal Barracks in Mile Two and fell sideways, resulting in its contents spilling out onto the road,” he said.
“Further investigation revealed that the driver and his assistant immediately fled the scene. An unidentified female adult who was seated beside the tanker drivers was trapped in the impact and lost her life. Her remains were pinned to dashboard from the impact of the accident on the tanker’s head.
“The Agency’s heavy-duty equipment is en route to the scene in order to recover the tanker together with its contents. Transloading of the contents is on hold until the ownership of the tanker and/or product can be determined.” Dr Oke-Osanyintolu said the LRU firefighters, the Lagos State Fire Service and the Nigerian Army are on standby to prevent any potential secondary incident.
