TheCable

Three people lost their lives in an accident involving six vehicles on the Kara bridge of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway in the early hours of Wednesday.

The accident, which occurred on the Lagos outbound lane of the bridge, forced several drivers to abandon their vehicles on the road.

Some vehicles were still burning as of the time of filing this report. Scores of commuters have been trekking long distances as a result of the accident.

Ibrahim Farinloye, south-west public relations officer (PRO) of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), confirmed this to NAN.

He said six vehicles comprising a car, three containers, and two tankers, were involved in the accident.

He also quoted Suleiman Yakubu, south-west coordinator of NEMA, as advising motorists on the Lagos-Ibadan outbound route to take Ikorodu route to avoid the gridlock

A witness said a speeding trailer loaded with petrol exploded after ramming into other vehicles, and spilling its content on the floor.

Officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) have cordoned-off the area to prevent further losses.

The incident caused hardship for those working in Lagos, but reside in areas like Ibafo, Mowe, Warewa, Prayer City, and Arepo areas of Ogun state.

Also affected were those travelling to Lagos from other parts of the country, as well as those travelling outside Lagos.

As of 8am, the gridlock from Kara bridge, close to the popular Julius Berger bus stop, stretched to Asese, a few kilometers away from the Redemption Camp.

Similarly, the queue formed by the Lagos outbound vehicles had stretched from the scene to Magodo, opposite the Lagos State Secretariat complex.

Many intending passengers, who wanted to travel to Lagos were, stranded at their various bus stops because majority of the commercial buses that could have conveyed them were stuck in the traffic.

A witness, who identified himself as Suraju Fadele, said the accident occurred at about 4am.

“I was waiting by the road side for my friend with some others to display our beef for the early morning market sales,” said Fadele, a butcher.

“Suddenly, I saw a trailer on top speed moving toward our side and passed us. A few metres away from us, we heard a loud explosion which made us run for dear lives, and afterwards, we saw huge billows of fire on the bridge.

“We realised that the trailer must have rammed into other articulated vehicles because there were many of them there as of that time.

“The problem with the accident is that nobody could move near the scene because of the raging fire.”

Another witness, who simply identified himself as Bashir, lamented the reckless and dangerous manner of drivers on the road.

“What caused the accident was simply speeding. The driver of the tanker was on top speed and I wonder why such a speed,” Bashir said.

“Before I could look ahead, he had rammed into another trailer ahead.

“When the trailer sped past us, we remarked that its driver was speeding and within a twinkle of an eye, we heard the loud bang followed by a raging fire.

“There was another trailer under repair on the bridge, which I think was loaded with rice; the trailer must have rammed into it.”

The Lagos-Ibadan expressway had witnessed similar accidents this year –one in January and another in July – both tragic incidents led to the loss of lives.