No fewer than 18 passengers lost their lives in a tragic fire accident along the Benin-Sagamu Expressway on Monday, after a petrol leak inside the vehicle led to an explosion. The spokesperson for the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE), Babatunde Akinbiyi, confirmed the incident to Punch Newspapers....READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE ▶▶
According to Akinbiyi, the unfortunate event occurred when the driver of the vehicle placed a petrol-filled keg at the back of the bus.
“Eyewitness accounts, corroborated by the driver, indicated that there was a keg full of petrol inside the bus, which fell over when the vehicle entered a pothole,” he said.
The spilled petrol reportedly found its way onto the vehicle’s exhaust pipe, which was at a high temperature, causing a fire that quickly engulfed the entire bus.
Akinbiyi explained, “The petrol poured onto the floor of the bus, then onto the exhaust pipe, causing the vehicle to catch fire while in transit.”
The accident occurred at around 3:30 pm near the RCC Yard on the Sagamu-Benin Expressway. The Toyota Hiace bus, identified by the number plate XA 690 AKU, was transporting passengers from the eastern part of Nigeria to Lagos when the explosion happened.
Sadly, all 18 passengers were burned beyond recognition, while the driver managed to escape with injuries.
“The partially burnt and injured driver was rescued and taken to Rona Hospital in Ijebu-Ode, while the presumed dead were deposited at the State Hospital Mortuary, Ijebu-Ode, by the FRSC,” Akinbiyi confirmed.
He urged motorists to avoid storing fuel kegs inside vehicles.
“Motorists are once again admonished not to store fuel in kegs and jerry cans while in transit, due to the attendant consequences,” he warned.
