Sodiq Mojibola
Many commuters plying the Ita-Oshin road, as well as traders, have shared their near-death experiences during the deadly gas explosion in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Some travellers to and from Lagos were seen stranded shortly after a gas tanker exploded in motion.
While PLATFORM TIMES gathered that four persons lost their lives and six vehicles went up in flames, the spokesperson of Ogun State Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Florence Okpe, claimed one person died.
PLATFORM TIMES observed that the explosion in Ita-Oshin in the Abeokuta-North local government area of Ogun State left a trail of devastation.
It was gathered that the accident occurred as the gas tanker manoeuvred along the road railings, leading to a catastrophic chain of events.
PLATFORM TIMES further gathered that emergency response teams, including personnel from the Federal Road Safety Corps, swiftly mobilized to the scene to evacuate the remains of the victims and contain the inferno.
Among the vehicles consumed by the blaze were taxis, a private car, and a truck, with the impact extending to nearby shops and houses.
Eyewitnesses, speaking anonymously to PLATFORM TIMES, had revealed that some casualties had already been rushed to the hospital by earlier response teams.
Meanwhile, Okpe said four vehicles were destroyed in the inferno with one life lost.
In a statement issued, she said that a gas tanker truck was said to have suffered brake failure, lost control, and hit the roadside culvert after which it went up in flames with the fire engulfing four other cars around the accident scene.
Okpe said that the deceased was a motor boy of the gas-laden tanker truck.
Okpe said, “The rescue team just confirmed the incident to me. The accident involved a Daf truck carrying gas which lost control and rammed into the culvert after which it went up in flames.
“Four vehicles were said to have been burnt and the only death recorded is that of the motor boy of the gas-laden truck.
“The suspected cause of the crash was mechanical deficiency (brake failure) and the vehicle crashed into the road barricade then went into flames and other vehicles around/shops were burnt.
“The fire service was contacted immediately and the scene was cordoned off also to avoid a secondary crash.
“The corpse was deposited at the state general Hospital morgue Abeokuta, and the injured victims were taken by the family.”
Sharing their near-death experience, a traveller, Dayo said he was around Neuropsychiatric hospital coming from Lagos when he heard the bomb-like sound, leaving all the passengers in panic.
He said the commuters were in panic mode and they started jumping from the windows of the vehicles while others quickly opened the doors and ran away.
The survivor said many travelers were stranded as a result of the incident.
Also speaking, Bola Banjoko, a trader in the area said the incident was sudden and left many people wandering about. She said many traders left their wares and ran for their lives.
Also speaking with PLATFORM TIMES on the incident, a commercial driver said he was lucky not to have been consumed by the inferno. He said the spot where the incident happened was his usual place where he stays to canvass passengers.
Many people who spoke with PLATFORM TIMES blamed the incident on the failure of the authority to regularly check the expiry date of the gas cylinders.
Many of them claimed that the explosion might have been caused as a result of either expiration or too much heat in the world.
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