About five persons including two pupils were
yesterday roasted to death when two fuel tankers collided at Asejire area on
Ibadan-Ife expressway which caught fire instantly.
Six other persons sustained varied
degrees of injuries and are now receiving treatment in the hospital.
One of the dead pupils was said to be
waiting for a bus along the road when the raging inferno consumed him.
Several buildings, shops, mechanic
workshops and market stalls were completely razed by the fire, which emanated
from the spilled content of the fallen trailer.
When our correspondent got to the
scene, mangled body of the burnt public school pupil, whose identity could not
be ascertained was spotted, just as men of the fire brigade service, Federal
Road Safety Corps FRSC and policemen were busy managing the chaotic situation.
The accident according to eye
witnesses caused traffic gridlock along the expressway as the section from
Ibadan end was closed to traffic while the evacuation of the burnt vehicles was
ongoing.
A victim, identified as Tajudeen
Bakare, whose residence was completely burnt told newsmen at the scene of the
accident that “the tankers while attempting to overtake each other on the hill
hit themselves and one of them, carrying petrol spilled its contents into
gutters and small stream and suddenly we heard a loud bang and there was fire
everywhere”.
The unit commander of the FRSC,
Egbeda, Commander Abiodun Akinlade who confirmed the accident explained that
“around 7.30am, we received a call that there was an accident and on coming
down we discovered one of the articulated vehicles had skidded off the road and
burst into flames”.
According to him, “It is like they
were doing competition on the highway, trying to overtake each other. I also
understand that a school bus was also trying to pick a child and the fallen tanker affected the bus and we
lost two people there. We also lost two people from the articulated vehicle”