It was a night of horror for residents of Kirikiri Road, Apapa. A petrol tanker laden with 33,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) somersaulted, resulting in an inferno that destroyed several buildings, including a bank's branch, Tuesday night.
By the time the inferno was brought under control early yesterday, no fewer than 15 people –including an expectant woman- had been burnt to death, 11 vehicles destroyed and property worth millions of naira razed.
Eyewitnesses gave a chilling account of how the tragedy occurred.
Azubuike Igboanugo, a trader at Ebunottin Shopping Plaza, said:
"I was standing here; I saw it as it happened. The tanker was coming from Kirikiri town and going to Wilmer, right here at Berger Suya bus stop. Two danfo buses were loading and many people were standing by the suya man to buy meat. Suddenly, we saw the tanker swerving and it appeared it had lost control. When it got to the Suya man, the driver turned the wheel to avoid hitting the buses and the tanker turned over, spilling the fuel. The fire from the Suya sellers stoked the inferno. I saw about 20 bodies, including that of an expectant woman."
Others said the driver must have lost control due to a brake failure, which prompted him to ram his tanker into the vehicles at the bus stop. As soon as the tanker fell and fuel began to spill into the drainage on Kirikiri Road, fire from the Suya sellers helped to ignite the fuel, causing maximum damage. In Ebunottin Plaza alone, 54 lock-up shops selling motor parts were destroyed.
Director, Federal Fire Service, Ganiu Olayowla and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesman Ibrahim Farinloye, both said 15 bodies were recovered at the end of rescue operations at 1:04am.
"We had about nine casualties that night, which were handed over to the police and on Wednesday morning, six more bodies were recovered from the debris.
"It involved a petrol tanker, which later spread to four houses and four commercial buses, all burnt down," Olayiwola said.
Olufemi Osanyitolu, the Director of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) whose men were also on a search and salvage mission, gave a different account of the incident and the death toll.
"It happened around 10:30 pm. We do not know where the tanker was coming from, but it apparently somersaulted here and the driver and motor boy were burnt beyond recognition. We recovered three other bodies on the ground but there was no way we could identify who they were," he said.
When pressed to give an accurate number of casualties, Osanyitolu said his agency recovered only five charred bodies. "When an incident like this happens, there will always be information one cannot verify. We counted five bodies and 11 vehicles that were destroyed."
Osanyitolu also warned that drivers should ensure their vehicles are in good working conditions before embarking on any journey noting that the tragedy would have been avoided if the tanker driver had ensured his vehicle was in a good working condition.
The epicentre of the tragedy was the branch of a bank whose upper floor was completely gutted. According to an employee, who do not want to be named, immediately the fire began, hoodlums brandishing cutlasses and axes attacked the bank and tried to steal money and other valuables.
"These people are animals; they attacked the ATM with axe, destroying a part of it, but could not open the safe. Then, they came inside the bank and attacked the strong room but could not break into it. After that they attempted to remove the generator; when that proved difficult, they took away the pumping machine and diesel," an employee said.
Employees of the bank were moving cash and other valuables into a waiting van yesterday. Neighborhood youths gathered to watch the unusual scenario.
Rasaq Fadipe, Director, Lagos State Fire Service, corroborated this claim: "We got the call at 22:43 hours after which we immediately dispatched three trucks of 10,000 litres of water and one truck carrying 600 litres of chemical foam. Immediately we came – we are aware of the contribution of banks to our economy, a lot of people have their cash trapped in there – we quickly faced the bank.
"But many of these street boys came in and disturbed us seriously. They were using hammer to break into the bank; so, we had to leave the place," Fadipe added.
As salvage efforts by emergency agencies were underway yesterday, Gabriel Nwafor, sat in front of whatever remained of his store, surrounded by sympathisers. He lost over N6million worth of goods to the inferno.
"I give thanks to God. I travelled back from the East yesterday and nothing happened. I'm incurring this loss," he said, shaking while friends comforted him with a pat on his shoulders. But his loss was nothing compared to Godwin Eze's. His goods worth N10 million was destroyed."Buyers were supposed to pay for this truck today. They were coming with N7million. Now that is gone. This truck is worth N17million with the goods," said another trader, Andy Samuel.
Berger Business Community chairman Okey Udeagbara said the loss of the trading community runs into hundreds of millions.
The traders did not insured their trucks and goods. Besides, the identity of the driver and the tanker's owner were unknown.
"The Lagos State government should help us identify the owner of the tanker through the chassis number so we can get compensation," Udeagbara said.
As at 3:pm, yesterday, burnt vehicles were being evacuated from the site, which LASEMA promised to fumigate to prevent an epidemic.
Technicians from the Power Holding Company were disconnecting electricity to avoid electrocution.
Residents watched from the safety of their homes.
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