A large portion of Admiralty Way in Lekki Phase1 area of Lagos got burnt early yesterday morning, following the fuel spilled by a petrol tanker which fell and caught fire.
The explosion occurred close to a place where several car hire cabs were parked, with their owners staying close to them.
It was learnt that the driver of the tanker, who was reported to be sleeping on the wheel, lost control of the vehicle which skidded off its lane, ramped into concrete in the median and fell, spilling its contents
The inferno that trailed the crash razed to ashes four vehicles parked close to the scene of the accident and the tanker with foreign registration number, BS 111FR.
However, the driver of the ill-fated tanker was reported to have escaped the fire which destroyed the portion it spilled its contents and there were no casualties.
A boat parked close to the scene of the crash miraculously survived the raving fire, which almost spread to some houses in the area.
An eyewitness, who said the incident occurred about 6 am, explained: “The driver was on speed and lost control but before he knew what was happening, the tanker had already caught fire.
“We then called on the people around to drive the cars out of the scene, unfortunately, fire razed other vehicles.”
At press time, the fire had been put out through the combined efforts of Federal and Lagos State Fire Service.
A victim of the fire, 63-yer-old Olu Olowoagbo, whose vehicle was razed by the inferno, lamented that his only source of livelihood had been taken off.
The car, a Toyota Camry, with number plate, GGE 846 GE, he used for car hire service, was burnt with the document of purchase the owner left inside.
He said: “Three years ago, I took a loan of N3 million to buy this car; I am still paying in installment. As we speak, I have N600,000 to pay off the car. I don’t have other means of survival.
”Right now, I need to speak with my insurance company as well as the person that sold it for me in order to evaluate the damage. Now this car is a waste.
“When I was informed about the incident, I almost passed out. I decided not to go and see my car that has been razed by fire. But my friend advised that I should be on ground to know the next line of action to take. I believe God will help me.”
The scene of the crash was cordoned off by policemen while the burnt tanker which blocked one lane of the dual carriageway was yet to be towed off at press time.
[Reported by Vanguard]
