Lagos State came under a series of fire incidents and transportation mishaps on Monday with scores of people escaping by the whiskers.
The incidents, which almost overwhelmed emergency responders, included a train accident early in the morning, the bursting into flames of a BRT bus and a fire outbreak at a warehouse at Iddo terminal on Lagos Island.
Earlier in the morning, the driver of a truck, his conductor and one other person escaped fatal injury by the whiskers when a train heading towards Ogun State rammed into their vehicle at Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos.
It was learnt that the truck driver had tried to beat a traffic light at Iju. However, he had the back of the truck still on the rail track hours later.
The train also rammed into some tricycles parked by the side of the rail line at Iju.
Acting Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye, said no life was lost in the incident.
Also, a BRT bus conveying about 45 passengers went up in flames at Idiroko bus stop, on Ikorodu road, Lagos.
The bus was en-route to Lagos Island when the incident occurred.
It was learnt that all the 45 passengers on board at the time of the incident jumped out of the bus through the windows when they noticed the fire from the engine.
Farinloye, who confirmed the incident, said the BRT bus, which took off from Ikorodu terminal was en-route Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Lagos Island when it suddenly caught fire at Idiroko bus stop, by Anthony.
Also in the afternoon, the state emergency management agency (LASEMA), while giving an update on the Iddo terminal fire, said stakeholders “have been engaged in the Herculean task of managing the incident for the past 24 hours.”
Director-General of LASEMA Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu said investigations revealed that the warehouse storage was improperly maintained and failed to comply with key health and safety regulations.
“Highly flammable items such as candles and batteries were commingled in poor ventilation conditions which directly contributed to the intensity and ferocity of the fire,” he said.
According to him, the stakeholders were able to prevent it from spreading to adjacent buildings with a total of 23 warehouses saved within the row of 31.
