Two Die in Lagos Truck-Gas Tanker Collision and Fire

Two people died in the early hours of Saturday when a speeding tipper truck collided with a stationary gas tanker along the Lekki-Epe Expressway in the Sangotedo area of Lagos State, sparking a fire that destroyed several properties and vehicles.

The incident occurred around 2:36 a.m. at the Tera Ahmed Bus Stop, near Ajah. According to a statement from Margaret Adeseye, controller general of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, a 20-tonne tipper truck traveling from the Epe axis rammed into the rear of a 30-tonne gas tanker that had stopped on the highway without pulling fully off the road. The impact ignited the tanker's contents, leading to an immediate blaze that spread rapidly to nearby structures.

Firefighters from the Lekki Phase II, Oniru, and Epe II stations responded promptly after receiving distress calls. They contained the fire before it could reach a Total petrol filling station adjacent to the scene, where a fully loaded 33,000-litre tanker of premium motor spirit was stationed. Adeseye noted that the responders averted what could have been a far more catastrophic explosion. "The resultant effects culminated in fire spreading to three adjoining warehouses and...