Another Fuel Laden Tanker Falls in Lagos State

Another tanker laden with petrol fell in front of a filling station at Oribawa bus stop on Lekki-Epe Expressway yesterday.

It spilled its content all over the road. No life was lost.

Immediately, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) cordoned off the area, warning residents, commuters and others to keep away from the scene to avoid fire outbreak.

Victims of last Saturday’s petrol tanker explosion, which razed 34 houses and 70 shops at Idimu, Lagos State, remained in shock yesterday.

A tanker, loaded with 33,000 litres of petrol fell, spilling its contents and wreaking havoc on the neighbourhood.

Grief-stricken, most of them stood in groups discussing their ill fate as they beheld the charred remains of their valuables.

They, however, rested their hope on the promise by the state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, to assuage their agony when he visited the scene last Saturday.

Ambode, during the visit, promised to meet with tanker drivers today in his bid to stem petrol tanker explosion.

After the visit, Ambode said: “We don’t want this to repeat itself. We have said it before; we need to address our tanker drivers and start to enforce our traffic laws. I have directed that the union of tanker drivers and the government meet on Monday (today) morning and we must make pronouncement relating to the usage of our roads.”

The governor promised: “I commiserate with all the people here. I appeal for calm. We would do immediate relief; we would take enumeration and see in what ways we can address your pain. We would do everything in our power to do everything to help them get back to their normal lives.”

Ambode, who was accompanied by his Deputy, Dr Idiat Adebule, expressed concerns over the spate of fallen petrol tankers in the state, noting that Saturday’s incident came a few days after that of Iyana Ipaja in which several shops and vehicles destroyed.

“This is another unfortunate incident happening within one week. It is unfortunate in the sense that we are beginning to lose a lot of our assets and property to fire,” he said.

Meanwhile, another tanker fell in front of a filling station at Lakowe on Lekki-Epe Expressway yesterday.

It spilled its content all over the road. No life was lost.

Source: naijaloaded