Many feared dead, houses burnt in Lagos tanker fire

By Akinwande Soji-Ojo

A tanker said to be loaded with petrol in the early hours of Friday crashed and exploded at Ajegunle bus stop, Alagbado, on Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.

Property worth millions of naira, including several houses, were said to have been burnt in the inferno, as men of the state fire service and police were deployed in the area.

The incident, it was learnt, happened around 3am on Friday.

A lawyer and resident of the area, Samuel Adeyemo, who spoke to The PUNCH, said no one could tell the number of casualties.

“We cannot tell the number of those that died. The police and fire service have been working and trying to put out the fire,” Adeyemo said.

A man who owns a shop in the area said some residents who attempted to scoop fuel were killed.

He said: “I have a shop here. I was called that the fire started around 3am, but by the time I got here, my shop had been razed.

“When the fuel started pouring down the canal, some people tried to scoop fuel. By the time the explosion happened, many of them were trapped and killed.”

Details later……..