- rescued passengers rushed to nearby hospital
By Seyi Babalola
The Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA Mr. Taofiq Adebayo, disclosed that the passengers were rescued by Lastma Official from Zone 1, Lagos Island.
Preliminary investigations revealed that a fully loaded LT Commercial Bus with registration number FKJ 872 YA, carrying 20 passengers, while on a high speed, lost control as a result of brake failure, and would have plunged into the lagoon but for the embarkment railing.
The truck driver ran away after the accident, but the Policemen from Adeniji Adele Police Station provided security backup during the rescue of the 18 seriously injured passengers by LASTMA officials.
LASTMA Ojo-Oniyun Olamide, who led the recovery operations confirmed that his team immediately evacuated the LT commercial bus off the road for unhindered free vehicular movement inward Adeniji Adele area of Lagos Island.
Meanwhile, the Marine rescue team also dived inside the lagoon on search and rescue mission to see if any of the passengers fell inside the lagoon.
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Services and other emergency stakeholders were on ground at the accident scene.
The General Manager of LASTMA Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki warned motoring public to stop over speeding and to check the braking system of their vehicles before embarking on any journey within or outside the State.
Sunrise News recalled that the Federal Government had on April 4, this year reopened the Third Mainland Bridge after a four-month rehabilitation work that saw the resurfacing of the entire stretch of the 34 km highway, as well as the repainting and markings of the entire bridge.
The Federal Government also declared that CCTV would be installed on the road to prevent over-speeding which government put at 80km per hour. Government also announced that street light would be installed on the entire stretch of the bridge to enhance visibility especially at night.