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Lagos witnessed a horrific scene on Sunday morning as an out-of-control oil tanker crashed into a string of 10 vehicles along the Maryland axis, resulting in an tragedy. The collision proved fatal for three individuals, while many more were left to pick up the pieces and tend to their wounds.
LASEMA’s Public Affairs Unit Head, Nosa Okunbor, broke the news in a statement on Sunday, confirming the worst fears of many as he officially announced the tragic incident that had rocked the city’s Maryland axis.
According to Okunbor, the chain of events began with a catastrophic brake failure on a diesel tanker, which then careened out of control and slammed into multiple vehicles, claiming the lives of three people and leaving an unknown number of others with injuries.
Upon arriving at the scene at 1am, Okunbor recounted, the LASEMA team encountered a second crash, involving a containerized truck that had collided with a MACK truck, resulting in the container truck driver suffering a leg injury, adding to the mounting toll of the disaster.
“Upon the arrival of the LASEMA Response Teams at the scene of the incident at 0113hrs, the LRT encountered a multiple-vehicle accident involving an oil tanker, registration number unknown, fully laden with diesel.
“The tanker reportedly suffered a mechanical failure (brake failure) while in motion, lost control, and crashed into several cars, resulting in numerous casualties.
“The second accident involved an articulated truck, registration number unknown, carrying a fully loaded 40-foot container, which reportedly collided with a MACK truck, also unregistered, loaded with refill industrial bottles. The crash was attributed to reckless driving and speeding.
“Sadly, three fatalities were reported in the multiple accidents, with the bodies removed before the LRTs arrived. An unspecified number of people were critically injured and had already been taken to various hospitals by the time the LRTs reached the scene,” the LASEMA spokesman stated.
Read also: Multiple Fatalities, Injuries In Enugu Road Accident
Okunbor provided a detailed inventory of the vehicles caught up in the accidents, which included two Volkswagen Vanagon commercial buses, one Mitsubishi Space Bus, two mini-buses commonly referred to as Korope, and a single Honda car, all of which had been impacted by the tragic events.
Similarly, he added that emergency responders were able to secure the area and implement critical safety and traffic control measures, which led to the temporary closure of the road and bridge.
“Recovery efforts for the accident trucks and other vehicles began immediately upon the arrival of equipment at the scene.
He further stated that the two LASEMA Response Teams, in conjunction with other emergency personnel, labored diligently to salvage all affected vehicles and mitigate the severe traffic congestion resulting from the accident.
