BREAKING: Nine confirmed dead, 54 vehicles burnt on Otedola bridge tanker fire

At least nine persons have been confirmed dead in a tanker explosion that occurred on Otedola Bridge outward Lagos on Thursday evening.

Four other persons were also confirmed injured.

Confirming the number of the casualties, the Federal Road Safety Corps spokesperson, Mr. Bisi Kazeem, added that 54 vehicles were also burnt in the incident.

The affected vehicles comprised the fuel tanker, five buses, two trucks, one tricycle, and 45 cars.

Our correspondent noted that no less than eight body bags were lined up on the bridge, as rescue operations continued.

While Kazeem said that rescue operations were ongoing, eyewitness’ account related that the incident resulted in a traffic jam that extended to the Third Mainland Bridge.

Speaking with our correspondent at the scene of the accident, the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Services, Adesina Tiamiyu, confirmed the figures to our correspondent.

He said, “We got a distress call this afternoon concerning an accident at Otedola bridge, through our emergency control room, and we activated our emergency response from the information. When we got here, we saw that a tanker that fell, it spilled its content and there was explosion. 54 vehicles were completely burnt, nine burnt bodies were recovered, four people were rescued and they have been taken to the hospital.”

The accident caused a standstill traffic as cars coming towards the area could not move, while a lot of passengers had to start trekking.

Many sympathizers surrounded the area, while the police and other law enforcement tried to keep people from staying close, because of fear that another explosion could spark from the flames.