The traffic situation in Lagos State appears to have intensified over the last 24 hours following a tanker explosion.
The explosion involving a fuel tanker occurred on the Longbridge along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Tuesday evening.
Although there were no casualties, the incident resulted in gridlock as commuters were prevented from driving through until the fire was quenched and the remains of the vehicle were removed.
The gridlock spilled over into the early hours of Wednesday, causing hours of delay for commuters heading to various destinations.
This comes amidst the recent ban of tricycles (Keke) and motorcycles (Okada) by the Lagos State government which many say has worsened their plight in commuting to and fro their destinations.
In addition to the limited means of transportation available, the Lagos/Ibadan expressway has experienced intense levels of traffic as a result of the ongoing reconstruction of the road.
Officials, however, say that the reconstruction which has lasted nearly 2 months is set to be concluded by the end of the month.
Four persons have been confirmed killed and 34 others injured following a tanker explosion at Kutigi town in Lavun Local Government Area of Niger State.
The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps in the state, Joel Dagwa, confirmed the incident to Channels Television on Tuesday.
According to him, the explosion happened after a tanker carrying substance suspected to be diesel, collided with a container loaded with bags of maize which was also carrying about 200 people, as well as another trailer loaded with bags of maize and other farm produce.
Dagwa also stated that a story-building and several other shops by the roadside were gutted by the fire.
He, however, noted that all those who sustained injuries are now receiving treatment at the General Hospital in Kutigi.
“The trucks were from the North heading towards Lagos, while the tanker was from Lagos heading towards the North,” he said.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Thursday announced the closure of the Sagamu Interchange Bridge in the south-western part of the country.
A statement signed by the Public Education Officer of the (FRSC) Ogun State Sector Command, Florence Okpe, explained that the decision was a result of the twin tanker explosion that occurred under the bridge on Christmas Day.
Florence, a Route Commander, disclosed that experts from the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing were invited to examine the bridge after the incident.
She noted that it was advised that the bridge be closed temporarily to avoid any preventable tragedy, as it was declared unfit without repair.
“Due to the damages done by the two petroleum tankers that crashed underneath the Sagamu Interchange Bridge in Sagamu, Ogun State, on Wednesday 25 December 2019, the FRSC invited Engineers of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to assess the continuous usage of the Bridge due to the intensity of the fire outbreak that damaged sections of the Bridge
“Based on their professional advice that the fire has destroyed the integrity of the bridge and may not be safe for motorisation till reinforced, the FRSC Ogun State Command is notifying members of the public to avoid the use of the bridge till it is reinforced,” the statement said.
Two tankers conveying petroleum products were said to have crashed into each other on the outward section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Both vehicles, thereafter, went up in flames due to the impact of the crash but no casualty was recorded.
In his reaction, the Sector Commander in Ogun, Clement Oladele, urged motorists to cooperate with the FRSC and the security agencies that would enforce the temporary closure of the bridge.
He, however, stressed that the enforcement exercise would only last until the bridge was repaired and reopened to motorists for use.
Oladele advised travellers approaching the Sagamu Interchange Bridge from the East via Ijebu-Ode to detour right at the back of the FRSC Emergency Roadside Clinic at Sagamu to connect the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway leading to Ogere.
“They can then make a U-turn before Ogere town and continue their journey to Lagos
“Vehicles coming from Abeokuta leading to the Eastern part of Nigeria via Ijebu Ode should avoid the Sagamu Interchange Bridge and turn right immediately after Nestle Company PLC to proceed to the Expressway leading to Lagos and they can then make a U-turn after Kara-Sagamu after the Julius Berger Yard, Sagamu to reconnect the Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode-Ore-Benin Expressway,” the statement added.
Scene of the explosion of the petrol tanker in Felele, Lokoja, Kogi State capital. PHOTO: Sodiq Adelakun/Channels TV
Three people were killed on Monday morning following a petrol tanker explosion in the Felele area, Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.
An eyewitness told Channels Television that the accident occurred after the brake of the trailer failed and the driver lost control. The tanker then rammed into a motorcycle resulting in multiple accidents and eventual explosion of the fuel-laden tanker.
One person has been killed and 10 others injured in a tanker explosion that occurred in Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State.
The State Emergency Management Agency who confirmed the incident said the explosion occurred around 10 pm at Dilko Junction, along the Abuja expressway.
According to SEMA, men of the state and federal fire service were deployed to the area to contain the fire but were not unable to until about 4:30 am.
Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli talks to medical staff and victims of the Morogoro petrol tanker explosion, at the Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam, on August 11, 2019. STRINGER / AFP
Tanzania on Sunday laid to rest most of the 71 people who died while trying to collect leaking petrol from an overturned fuel tanker that exploded.
The deadly blast, which took place Saturday near the town of Morogoro, west of the economic capital Dar es Salaam, is the latest in a series of similar disasters in Africa.
President John Magufuli declared a period of mourning through Monday. He was represented at funerals by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa.
Majaliwa spoke at a ceremony in Kola, less than 20 minutes from where the disaster occurred some 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of Dar es Salaam.
He gave a new death toll of 71, along with 59 injured.
White coffins were lowered into graves by members of the security forces, after which Islamic or Christian clerics said brief prayers and tossed handfuls of earth on them.
A Pentecostal pastor named Mechak said in a service broadcast on television that “this should serve as a lesson to us. When there is an accident like this we should steer clear and let rescue workers do their job.”
DNA tests will be carried out on bodies that were burnt beyond recognition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jenista Mhagama said, adding that families could take the remains of their loved ones and organise their own burials if they preferred.
A woman who had accompanied her neighbour to retrieve the body of a victim at the hospital said: “When I saw the injured my whole body trembled. They had been burnt like pieces of meat.”
‘No one wanted to listen’
Witnesses said the truck tipped over as it tried to avoid a motorcycle, and locals quickly converged on the scene to collect fuel.
The explosion was triggered when a man tried to retrieve the truck’s battery, creating sparks that ignited the fuel, according to the region’s governor.
Footage from the scene showed the truck engulfed in smoke and flames, with charred bodies and the burnt-out remains of motorcycle taxis scattered on the ground among scorched trees.
A video posted on social media taken before the explosion showed dozens of people carrying yellow jerricans around the truck.
“We arrived at the scene with two neighbours just after the truck was overturned. While some good Samaritans were trying to get the driver and the other two people out of the truck, others were jostling each other, equipped with jerricans, to collect petrol,” teacher January Michael told AFP.
“At the same time, someone was trying to pull the battery out of the vehicle. We warned that the truck could explode at any moment but no one wanted to listen, so we went on our way, but we had barely turned on our heels when we heard the explosion.”
‘May God heal you’
President Magufuli on Sunday visited some of those injured in the blast at a hospital in Dar es Salaam.
“May God heal you,” he said to the 43 patients, some in very serious condition.
Majaliwa said Sunday that a special commission would investigate whether mismanagement had contributed to the disaster.
“While our now-dead compatriots were gathering to syphon fuel, did anyone try to stop them?” Majaliwa asked.
Magufuli has called for people to stop stealing fuel in such a way, a common event across Africa, saying he was “very shocked” by the dangerous practice.
Last month, 45 people were killed and more than 100 injured in central Nigeria when a petrol tanker crashed and then exploded as people tried to take the fuel.
In May, a similar incident occurred in Niger near the airport of the capital Niamey, leaving almost 80 people dead.
Among the deadliest such disasters, 292 people lost their lives in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in July 2010, and in September 2015 at least 203 people died the South Sudan town of Maridi.
The death toll from a fuel truck explosion in Tanzania rose to 75 on Monday as four more people succumbed to their injuries, a hospital official said.
“We deplore four new deaths. Their bodies are currently resting at the morgue while we wait for relatives to identify them,” said Aminiel Aligaesha, spokesman for the National Hospital in the economic capital, Dar es Salaam.
Funeral services which began Sunday were expected to continue Monday as the country concluded a period of national mourning declared by President John Magufuli.
The explosion took place Saturday morning near the town of Morogoro, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of Dar es Salaam.
The dead were trying to collect leaking petrol from the overturned tanker.
Witnesses said the truck tipped over as it tried to avoid a motorcycle, and locals quickly converged on the scene to collect fuel.
The explosion was triggered when a man tried to retrieve the truck’s battery, creating sparks that ignited the fuel, officials said.
It was the latest in a string of such disasters in Africa and at least the third this year.
Last month, 45 people were killed and more than 100 injured in central Nigeria when a petrol tanker crashed and then exploded as people tried to take the fuel. In May, a similar incident in Niger killed nearly 80 people.
Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said Sunday that of 59 people injured in the Tanzania explosion, 43 had been transferred to the National Hospital in Dar es Salaam while the rest were receiving treatment in Morogoro.
Aligaesha said Monday that the remaining 39 patients at the National Hospital were “doing better” and that medical staff were “striving to provide them with the best possible care”.
Morogoro Governor Stephen Kebwe said the 16 patients there were also improving.
A Tanzanian security officer controls the area where the carcass of a burnt-out fuel tanker is seen along the side of the road following an explosion on August 10, 2019, in Morogoro, 200 kilometres (120 miles) west of the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam. STRINGER / AFP
Here is a recap of the most deadly tanker blasts in Africa in the last decade, after dozens of people died in Tanzania on Saturday when a fuel tanker exploded after overturning.
Accidents involving petrol tankers have proved extremely deadly as locals often flock to the scene of accidents to scoop up spilt fuel.
May 6, 2019, Niger:
At least 76 people die in an explosion near the airport of the capital Niamey. Most of the victims were trying to collect fuel flowing from the overturned truck when the blast occurred.
October 6, 2018, Democratic Republic of Congo:
At least 53 people are killed when an oil tanker collides with another vehicle and catches fire on a highway west of the capital Kinshasa.
November 17, 2016, Mozambique:
At least 93 people are killed when an oil tanker carrying petrol explodes in the west of the country. Hundreds were trying to siphon off the fuel at the time.
September 16, 2015, South Sudan:
At least 203 people are killed and 150 injured as people try to recover fuel from an oil tanker following a road accident west of the capital Juba.
May 31, 2015, Nigeria:
At least 69 people burn to death in the southeast of the country after a petrol tanker loses control, rams into a busy bus station and bursts into flames.
July 12, 2012, Nigeria:
At least 104 people are killed as they try to recover fuel from a petrol tanker following an accident in the southern River State.
July 2, 2010, DR Congo:
At least 292 people are killed in a petrol tanker blast in the eastern village of Sange. Some victims were trying to recover fuel after the accident; others were watching a World Cup football match nearby.
October 9, 2009, Nigeria:
At least 70 people are killed in the southeastern Anambra state after a petrol tanker explodes and the flames engulf several other vehicles.
January 31, 2009, Kenya:
Flames engulf a crowd scooping fuel when a tanker overturns near Molo, northwest of the capital Nairobi, killing some 122 people.
Firefighters assisted by volunteers putting out the tanker fire on Wednesday in Gombe State.
One person was killed on Wednesday after a tanker fully loaded with diesel exploded in Gombe State.
The accident occurred around 10:30 am in Tunfure, along Gombe Bauchi express road after a vehicle crashed into the tanker, killing a motorcyclist in the process.
A survivor of the incident, Pamela Manza explained that some people tried to rescue the motorcyclist, but the effort was futile because of the severity of the fire.
A motorist, Usman Ibrahim said the accident was caused by a vehicle parked on the road illegally. According to Ibrahim, the vehicle has been parked at a particular spot for over three months.
Meanwhile, officials of fire service and other security agencies were seen at the scene of the incident battling the inferno, while also controlling human and vehicular traffic.
Gombe State has witnessed two similar incidences in May this year, where about 18 people died.
At least 30 people are feared dead while many others are said to have sustained various degrees of burns after a petrol-laden tanker exploded in Benue State.
The explosion occurred on Monday at Ahumbe Village in Gwer East Local Government Area of the state after the tanker fell along the Aliade–Makurdi highway.
According to eye-witnesses, the accident also affected some houses and residents around the area.
One of the men from the fire service was also reported to have been seriously burnt while attempting to put out the inferno.
While those who sustained injuries were rushed to the hospital for treatment, corpses have now been moved to the mortuary.
Meanwhile, men of the Federal Road Safety Corps and the Police were, however, deployed to clear the heavy traffic, while the bodies were moved to the mortuary and the wounded taken for treatment.
Residents look at a calcined tanker truck after an explosion which killed more than 55 people near the airport of Niamey on May 6, 2019. Boureima HAMA / AFP
Niger will from Wednesday observe three days of mourning for 60 people who were killed in a tanker truck explosion near the international airport in the capital Niamey, the government said.
The days will pay tribute “to the memory of the victims of the tragic accident” that occurred early Monday as crowds had gathered around the overturned truck to collect spilled fuel, according to an interior ministry statement read out on state television late Tuesday.
Earlier, security official, Hamani Adamou Abdoul-Aziz told state television the toll from the explosion would likely rise because several people sustained severe, life-threatening burns.
Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum said people on foot and motorcycle had rushed to the truck to take fuel when the blast occurred. According to witnesses, one biker failed to switch off his engine, causing a spark that ignited the 50,000 liters of fuel.
The tanker, said to be laden with petrol, was said to have had a brake failure and rammed into a truck loaded with bottled water, crushing two motorcycles and two tricycles in the process.
Giving an update on the incident, Gyade disclosed that 20 other victims sustained various degrees of burns.
He, however, said they were already receiving medical attention at both the Federal Teaching Hospital and the State Specialist Hospital in Gombe.
The assistant director explained that 23 people were brought to the hospital, out of which three of them died while being treated and two more deaths were later recorded.
Elsewhere, the Medical Director of the State Specialist Hospital, Dr Shu’aibu Mu’azu, told Channels Television that 11 bodies were brought to the hospital.
He added that four of them were recognised and handed over to their relatives, but no one has come to claim the remaining seven bodies as they were burnt beyond recognition.
