Dismay swept via parts of Ibadan, Oyo Snarl, on the evening of Thursday, July 18, after a petrol tanker burst into flames at Celica junction along the Novel Ife Exiguous-find admission to dual carriageway. The fireplace, which broke out around 6:27 p.m., turned into the final end result of a tragic accident involving a tanker loaded with 33,000 litres of petrol.
Eyewitnesses whine the tanker lost retain watch over after suffering a brake failure, crashing into loads of vehicles sooner than tipping over and igniting. The resulting explosion sent flames and thick smoke into the sky, sparking chaos and apprehension among residents and commuters in the residence.
Emergency responders, including officers from the Oyo Snarl Fire Service and the Federal Fire Service, snappy moved in to contain the blaze.
Maroof Akinwande, chairman of the instruct fireplace provider, confirmed that his team feeble chemical foam to combat the fireplace and successfully prevented it from reaching a nearby NNPC filling online page online and tons of surrounding buildings.
According to him, swift coordination between response groups helped retain far from a miles greater catastrophe.
Though the corpulent extent of the injury is easy being assessed, early reports counsel that loads of vehicles and nearby properties were tormented by the fireplace. There were no instant reports of casualties, however locals whine the affect of the explosion turned into deeply felt, especially by store owners and residents approach the scene.
This incident adds to a growing checklist of fireplace-linked emergencies which maintain plagued Nigeria in recent months.
From market fires in Kaduna to building blazes in Kano and Ilorin, the country has considered repeated losses attributable to preventable failures. In January 2024 by myself, fires tore via Bodija in Ibadan, Gwarimpa in Abuja, and Rigasa in Kaduna, highlighting the urgent want for stronger security regulations and improved emergency response programs.
Oyo Snarl, in particular, has been hit onerous. Earlier reports confirmed that properties value thousands and thousands were lost to loads of fires across Ibadan, even sooner than this most modern tanker explosion.
Authorities maintain informed residents to remain cautious and file any early indicators of mechanical faults in heavy-accountability vehicles, especially these carrying unsafe provides.
As investigations continue into the motive behind Thursday’s explosion, many are calling on both authorities and inner most transport operators to position into designate stricter maintenance checks on gasoline tankers.
