Lagos: Sad tales of two tanker fire tragedies

LAGOS, Nigeria’s acclaimed commercial nerve centre, has within the last two weekS been visited by two fire-related tragedies involving petrol tankers. The first happened on June 2, 2015. It was a day many residents, shop owners, land owners, children, businessmen and traders in the Iyana- Ipaja area of the state have already dubbed a ‘Black Tuesday’. And they have their reason. On that fateful day, property and valuables worth millions of Naira were lost to an inferno which left 14 people injured and rendered hundreds of families homeless.


Structures ravaged by the inferno were mostly located in streets identified as Adebayo, Jafojo, Oremeji, Abule- Oki as well as Ipaja Road and the Lagos/Abeokuta expressway, among others.

Problem started around 12.30am when a petrol-laden tanker fell off the Iyana-Ipaja bridge, spilling its content all over the adjoining streets. A spark close to the spill soon caused the tanker to burst into flame. The resulting inferno injured 14 persons, razed 34 buildings, 44 shops and 21 vehicles.
One of the victims of the tragedy is 70-year-old Saula Onifade, a native of Abeokuta, Ogun State who now squats at No 16 Olanrewaju Street with his wife and four children.

Before the inferno, Saula a qualified carpenter, owned a workshop in Aboru and supplements his income by renting out working tools. He owned a block of four flats and four shops. But all have been lost to the Tuesday disaster.

Another victim, 38-year-old Ademola David who hails from Ondo State and lives at No 10/12 Oremeji Street lost six shops to the inferno. The house was built in 1978 by his late father who was an Aide de Camp to a former governor in Ondo State.

Ademola is one of the 14 victims with varying degrees of injury. He said he almost lost his right hand while trying to combat the fire and to stop it from spreading. “I have spent a lot of money treating the injury but I am grateful to God for being alive,” he said.