The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency has reported that no casualty was recorded as a tanker carrying 45,000 litres of Petroleum Motor Spirit toppled sideways while the truck head remained upright along the Ojota underbridge heading towards Ketu in the state.
The Head of the Public Affairs Unit at LASEMA, Nosa Okunbor, detailed the incident in a statement released on Thursday.
He explained that the tanker encountered a broken turntable while negotiating a bend at the interchange, leading to a loss of control and causing it to fall sideways, completely obstructing the road and spilling its contents.
Okunbor confirmed that no injuries or casualties were recorded. Safety measures have been implemented to prevent further incidents during the recovery operation.
Traffic control measures were initiated by the LASEMA Response Team in collaboration with the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority to alleviate the resulting traffic congestion.
Additionally, the LASG Fire and Rescue Service has been actively blanketing the spilled petroleum products to prevent any fire incidents. Responders are working diligently to manage the situation and ensure the swift recovery of the fallen tanker.
“In response to distress calls received by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, via the 767/112 Emergency Toll-Free lines at 1510hours, the Agency activated a response team from its Command and Control Centre at Alausa, arriving at the incident scene at 1519hrs. Upon arrival at the incident scene, the LASEMA Response Team discovered that a tanker, registration number KMC125 ZQ, laden to capacity with 45,000 litres of Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS, had fallen sideways, while the truck head remained in a standing position.
“Further investigations at the scene revealed that the oil tanker suffered a broken turntable while negotiating a bend to the interchange, lost control and fell sideways, thereby shutting down the road in that axis 100%, while spilling its contents in the process. No injuries, nor casualties were recorded during the incident.”
“Safety measures have been implemented to forestall secondary incidents from being recorded during the operation. Traffic Control Measures have been activated and conducted by LRT in collaboration with LASTMA to mitigate against traffic backlog.
“Active blanketing of the spilt petroleum products by the LASG Fire and Rescue Service is ongoing to forestall fire incidents as a result of the accident. Responders are making unrelenting efforts to manage the situation and ensure a swift recovery of the fallen oil tanker,” the statement continued.
The truck head has been towed away, and the LRT deployed its sophisticated heavy-duty equipment, including Charlie, a giant crane, and a lowbed truck, to complete the final phase of the recovery operation.
The operation concluded successfully without any secondary incidents, and the road has been reopened to the public.
Officials present at the scene included the LASEMA Response Team, LASTMA, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Federal Road Safety Corps.
