SEVERAL persons were feared dead and about 20 vehicles burnt on Sunday, when a tanker went up in flames  in Ibafo in Ogun State.

The cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained, but some witnesses claimed that the tanker crashed and went up in flames.

Traffic to Ibadan and Lagos on the ever-busy expressway was still at a standstill at 9 p.m.

There was pandemonium as motorists, commuters and residents of the community scampered for safety.

All the known bush paths that led to the road were blocked as motorists meandered to find escape routes.

The inferno raged at the scene for about five hours after the tragedy, despite frantic efforts by a team of rescuers comprising law enforcement agents, to curtail the fire and clear the way for people to resume their journey.

An eyewitness claimed to have counted at least five vehicles that were razed, but he could not confirm if they were mainly commercial ones.

Recently, no fewer than 40 persons died in a similar tragedy at the Lagos end of the road.When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Olumuyiwa Adejobi and the Unit Commander Mowe/Ibafo unit of the state Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), Commandant Gbenga Aderibigbe, confirmed the development.

Adejobi said that the police, at the time of filing this report, could not ascertain the number of causalities involved in the accident, while Aderibigbe added that frantic efforts were being made to quench the fire and restore normalcy on the highway.

The PPRO said, “I have been informed about the accident involving three artriculated lorries at Kara Area of Mowe/Ibafo on the  Lagos –Ibadan Expressway on Sunday evening.

“The Divisional Police Officer in the area had briefed me but could not ascertain the number of casualties involved in the accident. All that he was able to tell me was that one of the trailers traveling to Ibadan from Lagos lost control and veered off the road to the other section of the highway.”