Two people were burnt beyond recognition in the early hours of Saturday following a horrific accident involving a gas tanker and a tipper truck at Tera Ahmed bus stop, Sangotedo, along the Lekki–Epe Expressway in Lagos.
The victims, reportedly the driver of the tipper truck and his assistant, were trapped in the flames, while the driver of the gas tanker miraculously escaped unhurt. In addition to the human toll, the inferno affected three warehouses and ten roadside shops, including a gym and a generator house.
Margaret Adeseye, Controller General of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, said the incident was reported around 2:36 a.m., prompting immediate deployment of firefighters from Lekki Phase II, Oniru, and Epe II fire stations.
Investigations revealed that a 20-tonne tipper truck, allegedly speeding from the Epe axis, rammed into a stationary 30-tonne gas tanker that had failed to pull off the highway. The collision ignited a fire that quickly spread to nearby properties, threatening a petrol filling station and a fully loaded 33,000-litre PMS tanker. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze before it reached the fuel station.
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Adeseye further disclosed, “After the blaze was doused, three Sienna buses, one Toyota Corolla, and a forklift parked within the affected properties were recovered. Sadly, the tipper truck driver and his assistant were burnt beyond recognition.”
Authorities are currently working to evacuate the remains of both vehicles from the roadway, and traffic flow has reportedly returned to normal.
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This incident highlights ongoing concerns about road safety and the dangers posed by speeding and poorly parked heavy-duty vehicles on major Lagos highways.
