A petrol-laden tanker fell and spilled its content on the road on Wednesday at Western Avenue, Ojuelegba area of Lagos State, thereby sparking panic amongst residents of the area.
The yet-to-be-identified driver lost control of the vehicle after it developed a mechanical fault while in motion.
A resident of the area said the incident happened on Wednesday evening but the spillage continued into the night, thus creating apprehension in the area.
“There is a truck loaded with fuel that fell between National Stadium and Ojuelegba. This happened around 5:30 pm. Thank God the firefighters came around but till this moment the content has not been evacuated. Please this is disaster awaiting,” the resident said.
In a statement on Thursday morning, the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said no fatality was recorded, adding that emergency responders had cordoned off the area to prevent a secondary incident.
He said, “LASEMA has tactically averted more oil spill fires in Lagos with timely recoveries of two oil tankers spewing their highly combustible contents from Lagos roads.
“Upon arrival at the scene of the incident, it was discovered that a Conoil tanker with unknown registration number loaded with 33,000 litres of PMS lost control while in motion and fell sideways as a result of a suspected mechanical fault.
“This led to the contents spilling on the main carriageway and obstructing vehicular activities. There was no loss of life nor injury sustained at the scene.
“In a similar development at Mile 2, inward Berger, the team recovered another fallen diesel tanker loaded to its 45, 000 litres capacity that fell and spilled its content which constituted a grave danger to lives and properties to residents in the area.
“A joint effort comprising the LASEMA Response Team, Federal Fire Service, LASG fire service, Police and LNSC officials worked together to cordon off and blanket the areas to prevent a secondary incident. Recovery operation ongoing.”