Another fire averted as tankers collide on Lagos-Ibadan expressway

There was panic at the Lagos-Ibadan expressway on Saturday as an accident that could have led to a fire outbreak was averted when two tankers loaded with petrol collided, spilling their contents.

The incident which happened at Berger inward Kara bridge worsened traffic gridlock on the expressway.

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Daily Trust reports that many motorists had complained of heavy traffic along the expressway both inwards and outwards Lagos which extended to Ogunnusi road and 7-Up axis.

But it was later gathered that the gridlock which has become a permanent feature of the Kara axis of the expressway following the closure of a lane was further exacerbated by the accident which occurred on Saturday’s afternoon.

It would be recalled that around the same Kara axis was where multiple tanker accidents were recorded on June 21 where two people lost their lives as four tankers were burnt.

Following the incident, the Federal Government announced the closure of the lane where the fire was recorded in order to conduct integrity test on the road section.

This has been causing gridlock on the expressway but the situation got worse on Saturday with the tanker accident.

However, no fatality was recorded as emergency officials comprising the state emergency management agency (LASEMA), Lagos Fire, among others swiftly moved to the scene to prevent a fire outbreak.

Our correspondent observed firefighters blanketing the spilled fuel to prevent an explosion.

Director-General of LASEMA, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyitolu said the agency received distress calls concerning heavy traffic along Lagos Ibadan Expressway both inward and outward down to Secretariat and activated a response team to the incident scenes.

According to him, the area has been blanketed to forestall a secondary occurrence.

Transloading of the fuel content was also being carried out as of the time filing this report and the affected tankers would be moved off the road and subsequently handed over to police officer from Ojodu Berger.