Three persons were feared killed while 15 others sustained serious injuries in an accident at Lotto junction, Mowe, on the Lagos- Ibadan Expressway on Monday night. The crash was said to have happened when a fuel-laden tanker ran into herds of cattle crossing the road.
The incident led to a gridlock on Tuesday morning on the ever-busy expressway as traffic was diverted to a single lane. It was learnt that the tanker, which was travelling to Ibadan, crushed some of the cattle, killing four of them instantly.
A fire truck belonging to the Ogun State Fire Service, which was earlier deployed to the scene to prevent fire outbreak, was consumed alongside three persons. One of the firefighters, identified as Ayo Adedeji, was said to have been seriously injured.
When contacted yesterday, the Public Relations Officer of the state Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), Babatunde Akinbiyi, said the accident occurred about 11p.m. on Monday. He said: “Our men on ground at the scene said the fire incident occurred around 11p.m.
Though the fuel tanker ran into a herd of cows around 3:30p.m. and spilled its content, as it veered off the road, the owners of the truck brought another tanker and transferred the product into it, and moved it to its destination.
“Around 11p.m., a towing vehicle was passing by, and it was towing another vehicle, which had no tyres. The rims were having direct contact with road and this led to a spark, and it resulted into a huge fire, which consumed the tanker, fire fighting truck and three persons.” Akinbiyi said the injured persons were taken to the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, for treatment.
