There was pandemonium and traffic chaos along Iwo-Road/Ojoo Expressway, for the better part of yesterday after a truck, Bluebird saloon car and 10 petrol tankers fully loaded with fuel caught fire near the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Mega Station at General Gas area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The fire incident, which occurred at about 2.30am, woke up many residents of Idi-ape, Basorun, Akobo and General Gas axis from their sleep due to the intensity of the fire as well as the continuous explosion occasioned by the inferno.
The fire incident, which occurred at about 2.30am, woke up many residents of Idi-ape, Basorun, Akobo and General Gas axis from their sleep due to the intensity of the fire as well as the continuous explosion occasioned by the inferno.
Many others were scared that the fire might spread across the streets and major roads in the area, forcing fire fighters and Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) officials to cut electricity connections and cables in the area.
Though no life was lost , electricity poles, shops, stalls as well as private cars parked along the road were not spared.
It was gathered that a lorry with registration number: XQ 717 GGE carrying coal and coming from Ojoo end of the expressway had lost control, skidded off its lane, somersaulted several times and hit an NNPC tanker fully loaded with fuel , attempting to park.
The resultant collision led to an explosion, with splashed petrol from the tanker, spilling to others parked in front of the NNPC Mega Station, thus sparking off the inferno that completely burnt 10 tankers in the process.
Narrating how the incident happened, NNPC Sales Manager in charge of Oyo and Osun depot, Mr. Adebisi Adewale said the petrol splash caused fire to spread to other vehicles within the area. “The fire was spreading from one vehicle to the other. It also caught up with another lorry fully loaded with diesel.”
He added that men of state fire service were immediately informed about the incident, but they did not arrive the scene until at about 3.00am. “When they eventually arrived, they did their best to put off the fire and it was their efforts that prevented the fire from affecting our station as you can see,” he told Daily Sun.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Moses Onireti said he immediately dispatched a team of police officers to the scene when he got the news of the fire incident.
Meanwhile motorists and commuters using the route, which connects travelers from the South-west to the northern part of the country, experienced hell, due to attendant traffic gridlock. A long stretch of queue forced many motorist on the four-lane road to abandon their section of the road to beat the traffic jam, but this only compounded the situation, leaving the traffic at standstill for hours from early hours till noon.
The development forced others alerted to the situation to take other routes in the city. However, the situation began easing at about 3.00pm, when security men took positions to control traffic.
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