November 28, (THEWILL) – A grandmother and her grand child were burnt to death in an early morning tanker explosion that occurred on Sunday at Oju-Irin in Lafenwa area of Ogun State.
Several others sustained varying degrees of injuries in the explosion that also ravaged shops and shanties at Lafenwa market destroying properties worth millions
An eyewitness said the tanker which was laden with Premium Motor Spirit otherwise known petrol, overturned while making its way inbound Rounder from Oju-Irin, Lafenwa Market spilling its content
The witness explained further that immediately the tanker fell some people in the area started scooping out fuel from the vehicle which ignited into inferno resulting to the death of the two
Some youths, however, got angry at the incident and vandalised vehicles belonging to officers of the Fire Service, TRACE and other agencies who came to the scene for rescue operation
They also lynched the officers before broken the windscreen of the Federal Fire Service vehicle and damaged the front and the back screen of a TRACE car with registration number TDC-25RT
The Spokesperson of the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, TRACE, Babatunde Akinbiyi confirmed the incident to newsmen in Abeokuta
Akinbiyi said that a tanker loaded with petrol overturned and spilled its content on the road at Out-Irin area of Lafenwa at about 4:45 am in the morning
He noted that while the officials of the TRACE, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Fire Service, police and other agencies were on ground to restore normalcy, some members of the public were seen scooping fuel out of the tank and engage in unwholesome act resulting to the explosion
“A fully loaded PMS laden tanker, due to axle problem overturned around 0445hrs today, Sunday, 28th November, 2021, while making its way inbound Mile 2/Rounder axis from Oju-Irin, Lafenwa, spilling it’s content in the process and affecting traffic along the axis.”
“Two lives were lost in the unfortunate inferno that of a grandmother and a grand child whose gender cannot be ascertained, while properties worth of million naira were destroyed”
“While TRACE, POLICE, FRSC, FIRE SERVICE, OGSAS, SEMA and other 1st responders were working assiduously to restore normalcy, as transloading was already in progress then, the general public, particularly the motoring public, domiciled and moving around the axis were already scooping fuel and engaging in other unwholesome act, which regrettably sparked off the fire.” added
He said the injured people have been taken away for treatment while the corpses of the two persons have been deposited at the morgue of the General Hospital, Ijaiye, Abeokuta
The TRACE PRO, therefore, appealed to the general public, particularly the motoring, domiciled or moving around the axis to remain calm and take another route
Akinbiyi added that motorists going inward Rounder axis from Lafenwa, should make use of Olomore and Oke-Ata axis respectively as alternative routes, since traffic had been diverted towards that axis at the moment.
