ADELOWOKAN AKINWOLEMIWA ADEDAPO
A Maiduguri bound petrol tanker on Thursday afternoon caught fire on Ibadan-Lagos Expressway.
P.M.EXPRESS was at the scene of fire incident, at Sawmill Bridge, Onipepeye area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital..
The fire incident was caused by the tanker who had an accident on the highway after its driver, a Hausa man, tried to avoid his tanker hitting a car whose driver unexpectedly matched on the break. In the process of avoid hitting the car, the tanker skidded off the highway, fell and split the petrol contents on the highway.
Upon the seeing the petrol gushing out of the tanker, some people begin to scoop it in their jerry cans.
Few minutes after the accident, the petrol that had littered the highway caught a wild fire resulting to motorists coming from the toll gate axis and those coming from Iwo Road running for safety.
However, P.M. EXPRESS couldn’t ascertain if there was any live lost, but there are strong indications that many vehicles packed under the Sawmill bridge closed to the point of the accident might been hit by the fire.
Men of the fire service were seen helpless to contain the fire as at the time of filling this report.
Meanwhile, the fire incident has caused serious traffic gridlock on the expressway with travellers coming to Ibadan and going out of the ancient city, who are passing through the highway were badly affected.