A tanker loaded with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) has exploded, killing its driver and injuring one other person in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.
Yemi Akinyinka, the General Manager of the Oyo State Fire Services Agency, confirmed the incident in a statement on Wednesday.
According to Akinyinka, the tanker lost control, collided with two other trucks, and overturned into a nearby pit before catching fire.
Akinyinka said the incident resulted in the death of the tanker driver and injured the motor boy.
“The incident happened around Fijabi House, Agbowo, and Ojoo/Iwo Road Expressway. The agency received a distress call about the fire incident at exactly 2:45 a.m. through a telephone call.
“The service swiftly deployed personnel to the scene and curtailed the fire from spreading to the nearby residential area. On arrival, we met three trucks of 20-metre distance from one another involved in the fire incident.
“The driver was burnt to death while the motor boy was rescued alive and taken to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, for treatment,” he said.
Akinyinka said the explosion destroyed the tanker while the agency’s personnel rescued the other two trucks.
“The agency’s director of operations, Ismail Adeleke with team members, the police, and some other security agencies were at the scene to prevent a breakdown of law and order,” he said.
Intel Region reports that tanker exploded along the Dikko-Maje road, opposite the Baddegi fuelling station in Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State on Saturday
Reports had indicated that people who gathered to scoop the spilling fuel were caught in an explosion, which also affected those attempting to rescue victims.
The Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) on Monday said that the death toll from the Dikko tanker explosion had risen to 98.
Earlier this month, at least two people reportedly died in a petrol tanker explosion in Agbor town in Ika LGA of Delta state.
