Two persons died and several properties, including warehouses and roadside shops were destroyed following a gas explosion on Saturday in Ajah, Lagos.
The incident occurred in the early hours along the Lekki-Epe Expressway at Tera Ahmed bus stop, Sangotedo, following a collision between a gas tanker and a tipper truck.
Officials of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the development.
According to the agency’s Director of Public Affairs, Amodu Shakiru, the fire had been extinguished as of the time of filing this report.
In a statement, the agency’s Controller General, Margaret Adeseye, said that the situation had been brought under control.
‘The accident, which was alerted at 02:36 wee hours Saturday saw Lekki Phase II, Oniru and Epe II Fire Stations of the agency raced to the scene after it was reported that an oncoming speeding 20-tonne tipper truck from the Epe end rammed from behind into a stationed 30-tonne gas truck that failed to pull over from the highway.
‘The resultant effects culminated in fire spreading to three adjoining warehouses and 10 roadside shops, including a gym and generator house, before the fire was put out, saving a Total Petrol Filling Station, its fully loaded 33,000-litre PMS tanker and a host of properties’, the statement further read.
The agency added that, after the blaze was doused, three Sienna buses, one Toyota Corolla car and a forklift were recovered from the affected premises.
It disclosed that the tipper driver and his assistant, both male adults, were burnt beyond recognition, while the driver of the gas truck escaped unhurt.
The agency said that efforts were ongoing to evacuate the remains of both trucks from the road, as normalcy had begun to return to the scene of the accident.
