Two people have sustained severe burn injuries after a diesel tanker fell off Otedola Bridge along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and burst into flames beneath the bridge.
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) said the incident triggered an intense fire, leaving the two victims with extensive burns and requiring their immediate rescue and urgent medical attention.
In a statement on Monday evening, LASTMA’s Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, Adebayo Taofiq, said the agency’s emergency response team, working alongside other emergency management agencies, swiftly mobilised to the scene and rescued the injured victims.
According to Taofiq, the victims were evacuated by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency’s Rescue Unit (LRU) to the Lagos State Accident and Emergency Centre, Toll Gate, where they were admitted for immediate treatment.
He added that operatives of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service were deployed to contain and extinguish the blaze, prevent it from spreading and minimise the risk of further casualties and damage to nearby infrastructure.
Other agencies involved in the coordinated rescue and firefighting operations included the LASEMA Rescue Unit, the Federal Road Safety Corps, the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency and police officers from the Alausa Police Division, LASTMA said.
The tanker fire forced motorists to divert from the affected section of the expressway, triggering traffic congestion around the bridge.
The incident adds to a series of road crashes, vehicle rollovers and tanker fires recorded along the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, a major route linking Lagos to other parts of the country, including the South-West, South-East and South-South regions.
It also comes after a 33,000-litre tanker overturned at Ojota Bridge in Lagos, spilling its groundnut oil cargo onto the road. Authorities attributed that incident to suspected brake failure.
