Two people were also injured in the incident
A tanker bearing fuel exploded on Tuesday, along the Eruwon Highway near Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, killing one person and injuring two others.
An eyewitness said that the tanker, which was coming from Eruwon, fell while trying to negotiate a roundabout.
He explained that when the tanker fell, the petrol inside it poured out, trapping the driver and two other passengers.
“When the tanker fell, we tried to rescue those trapped inside, but we were able to rescue two while we could not rescue the third person who is a motor boy before the tanker exploded,” the witness recounted.
“The explosion would have been prevented if a pick up van which we asked to stop obeyed us. It was the emission from the pick up that sparked off the explosion.”
It took the intervention of the State Fire Service to put out the fire, while the FRSC and the Ogun State Traffic Compliance Agency had a hectic time controlling traffic.
Confirming the incident, Issa Seidu, the Ijebu-Ode Unit commander of FRSC, said the accident was caused by brake failure of the tanker.
Seidu said the explosion was as a result of the smoke emission from other vehicles plying the other side of the road.
Also speaking, Hamzat Tommy, the Ijebu-Ode Zonal Commander of the state Traffic Compliance Enforcement, who gave the number plate of the tanker as XC 577 WWW, described the incident as unfortunate.
Tommy said the body of the only victim had been deposited at the General Hospital mortuary in Ijebu-Ode.
The Ogun Deputy Speaker, Tola Banjo, who visited the scene, also described the incident as unfortunate.
“It is an unfortunate incident but at the same time it is a preventable one. It would have been averted if not for the careless attitude of other drivers whose vehicle emissions sparked off the fire,” he said.
