A tanker ladden with 45,000 liters of Premium Motor Spirit has tumbled and spilled its content over on Thursday, September 17th. The accident occured at Isimi, in the Epe area of Lagos state.
This was revealed in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, which also added that there were no casualties in the accident.
LASEMA said it received the emergency call at 10:19 am, which was followed by the activation of its LRT Beta Whales Team at Epe. Upon arrival, the scene consisted of a tanker which clashed into a faulty Ford pickup truck containing animal feed. Both vehicles had the registration number T-18212LA and KJA-13FJ respectively.
Preliminary investigation by the agency revealed that the tanker clashed with the faulty pickup van that was parked on the road, while trying to manoeuvre its way around it which led to one of its rear tyres slipping into a pit and overturning, spilling its contents onto the road.
The emergency operation was a collaboration between LASEMA’s LRT, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps, Federal Road Safety Corps and the Nigeria Police Force.
”promptly secured the incident perimeter, implemented traffic control and diversion measures, and deployed safety protocols to prevent a secondary incident.” the statement disclosed.
According to the agency, the LSFRS surrounded the crashed tanker and its immediate surroundings with chemical foam to lessen the risk of a fire outbreak, with the remaining PMS transfered from the damaged tanker to an empty one.
“The affected section of the road was temporarily closed to vehicular movement to ensure public safety,” the statement added.
Following this, the road was reopened to commuters for movement.
Dr. Oke commended the emergency operatives for their “swift response and synergy” leading to the successful aversion of what could have resulted in a major disaster.
He appealed to motorists, especially heavy-duty vehicle and tanker drivers, to ensure their vehicles were in good mechanical condition and to remain caution on Lagos roads.