Etim Effiong
Two persons were killed on Sunday in a tanker explosion that happened at Ojurin-Lafenwa around Mile 2/Rounder area of Abeokuta.
Traffic report from the scene indicated that those who died were a grandmother and a grandchild.
A tanker loaded with Premium Motor Spirit also known as petrol had overturned when its axle broke and started spilling its contents on the road.
The Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi said while the agency and sister road safety agency, police and other first responders, were working and trans-loading was in progress, that some residents came to the scene and were already scooping fuel and engaging in other unwholesome acts, “which regrettably sparked off the fire” that engulfed the whole area.
Akinbiyi said two lives were lost in the unfortunate inferno, “that of a grandmother and grandchild, whose gender cannot be ascertained, while property worth millions of naira were also destroyed.”
He explained that the corpses had been deposited at the morgue of the General Hospital, Ijaiye, Abeokuta.
Akinbiyi said the mob vandalised two patrol vans belonging to TRACE Divisional Command, Abeokuta, and two heavy-duty vehicles belonging to the Federal and State Fire Services, while some personnel of TRACE and Fire Service were also assaulted during the rescue operation.
While the TRACE corps, on behalf of other services involved in the rescue endeavour commiserates with the families of the victims and those who lost properties in the unfortunate inferno, it urged members of the public to show more understanding, support and cooperation in the future rescue efforts to avert a more catastrophic consequence.