3 killed on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

Dele Aderibigbe and Adelowo Oladipo, Lagos - 06.07.2008

Three people were burnt to death by fire caused by a petrol tanker which rammed into a Mercedes Benz 190 car after it had lost control along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Saturday.

The accident, which occurred before Alapako- Ogunmakin area of Ogun State, a few minutes after 8.am, also left both the plate numbers of the vehicles and their occupants burnt beyond recognition, thereby preventing any possibility of easy identification of the victims.

The tanker, according to a police officer at the scene, was probably coming at top speed from Lagos when its tyre bursted, and, consequently swerved to the left and rammed into the Benz car with a lone occupant, sending it off the road, before tumbling to spill its content on the road which caught fire immediately.

The police officer further told the Sunday Tribune that they were helpless rescuing the victims not only because they couldn’t arrive the scene on time but also because of the inferno.

The police officer informed that the charred body of the driver of the Mercedes Benz had successfully opened the door of the car but was trapped by the fire.

“It would have been extremely difficult to think of saving anybody in a situation like this. The fire came too fast and help was not immediately at hand. But that would not stop us from furthering our investigation”, he explained further.

When the Sunday Tribune left the scene at 10.07 am, the two vehicles were still burning, and there was nobody else on sight apart from the two policemen, who witnessed the incident.