9 Killed, 4 Injured in Nigeria Oil Tanker Fire

9 Killed, 4 Injured in Nigeria Oil Tanker Fire
Smoke rises above the cars in fire on a street in Lagos, Nigeria, June 28, 2018. (Rapid Response Squad/via Reuters)
Reuters
6/29/2018
Updated:
6/29/2018

An oil tanker truck caught fire in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos on Thursday, June 28, killing nine people and burning out 53 other vehicles, an emergency agency official said.

Video seen by Reuters showed vehicles ablaze and thick black smoke billowing across a wide stretch of road.

The accident happened on a motorway that connects Lagos and the city of Ibadan, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) spokesman Adeshina Tiamiyu said. He said a distress call was received at around 5:33 p.m. local time.

“Nine people are dead and four injured are in hospital,” said Tiamiyu.

One of the dead was a child, LASEMA said in a statement.

A spokesman for the Federal Road Safety Commission, Bisi Kazeem, said the crash happened around Otedola bridge on the section of the road heading out of Lagos.

He said the cause of the accident was brake failure. He added that the tanker, five buses, two trucks, a tricycle, and 45 cars were burnt out.

“As a government, we would not relent in putting measures in place to ensure safety of lives and property of all residents,” said Lagos state government spokesman Kehinde Bamigbetan in an emailed statement.

“We extend our deepest commiseration to the families of persons who lost their lives as well as properties to the incident.” The statement added that the state government was clearing damaged vehicles from the road.

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