More details have emerged on the truck load of 33,000 litres of petroleum product that felled Wednesday morning at Barracks Bus Stop, along the Mile 2/Badagry Expressway, Ojo, Lagos, spilling its content on the ground and triggering wildfire.
Checks by Business Hilights revealed that the accident happened exactly in front of Onireke Police State, opposite Ojo Military Cantonment in the early hours of the day.
A Police officer who spoke to our correspondent at the spot on grounds of anonymity revealed that the contractor handling the expansion of the international highway, China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) had been severally warned to see how it can provide a palliative at the dangerous spot but kept quiet.
Other eyewitnesses who spoke to our reporters also confirmed repeated calls on the company to work on the spot and other spots especially under Lagos International trade Fair Bridge which are even more dangerous for long vehicles.
Efforts to speak to any official of the construction firm as at press time failed as nobody was willing to talk on the accident which claimed yet to be ascertained number of persons.
Efforts of Police officials, Fire service personnel and Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) who activated their emergency mechanisms to rescue victims and put out the fire were effective, but traffic gridlock caused by the fire lasted till evening along the stretch.
Additional checks revealed that construction activities seem to have been freezed even before the end of the year till date.
