The Lagos Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has said that a tanker loaded with 33,000 litres of petrol with registration number KJA-900XR, on Saturday burnt fire on the Otedola Bridge.
The Public Affairs Officer of LASEMA, Mr Nusa Okunbor, made the disclosure in a statement in Lagos. According to him, an investigation revealed that the tanker experienced burst tyres while in motion.
” The tyres of the tanker caught fire due to continuous motion and led to an outbreak of fire due to heat generated by the motion. The fire has been extinguished. No casualty or injury was recorded.
“The Lagos State Fire Service, LASEMA and the Tiger Team are on ground to prevent occurrence of a secondary accident, as frantic efforts are on to plug oil leaks,” Okunbor said.
Earlier, The Herald reported that a major fire outbreak was on Saturday averted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos after a tanker conveying Premium Motor Spirit lost balance and spilled its contents on the major road leading to the nation’s busiest airport.
The incident which occurred about 10a.m caused heavy vehicular traffic around the airport and its environs for several hours.A reliable source from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Fire Service Department, told NAN that the disaster was averted by the prompt action taken by both FAAN fire fighters and the Lagos State Fire Fighters.
He said: “The truck lost balance and spilled its content very close to the Airport Garage which is the road leading to the airport from Ikeja.
“Fire fighters responded quickly and diluted the contents with a ” foam blanket”, to prevent any fire outbreak.
“Also, some officers were quickly deployed to the nearby FAAN residential quarters to monitor the situation.”
DSP Joseph Alabi, spokesperson for the Lagos Airport Police Command, who also confirmed the incident to NAN, commended the roles played by all agencies to avert the disaster.
Alabi said following the incident, the Police from Area F Command and traffic officials embarked on rerouting vehicles coming and going into the airport to ease the traffic gridlock.