No fewer than sixty people were burnt beyond
recognition this evening in Ibadan when a fuel
tanker fell at the popular Molete Under-bridge,
splashing its highly inflammable content on all
objects in sight with an accompanying inferno.
The accident that occurred around 9 pm left
scores dead and many people injured with varied
degrees of injury. When the Street Journal visited
the scene of the accident, there was commotion
as many people were still trying to find their
wards and relatives that just passed though the
area.
Eye witness accounts have it that the fuel tanker
that was coming from Challenge end of Molete
had a break failure and the driver subsequently
lost its control before it rammed into a pole under
the bridge, resulting in the fire disaster.
It was gathered at the scene of the accident that
about dozens of Okada riders and some
commuters were caught up in the ensued fire
disaster. Traders by the roadsides particularly,
the bread sellers were roasted like bush meat. All
the adjoining streets had a fair share of the
disaster as casualties figures are expected to rise
as many people were caught unawares in their
shops.
A combined team of security operatives and the
state emergency agencys were on ground to
ensure that the number of casualties was
drastically brought under control.
Men of the state fire service were also sighted at
the scene of the fire disaster rescuing people that
were trapped while the entire area was condoned
off to ensure smooth rescue operation by the
emergency agency personnel.
Men of the Nigeria Police were also on ground to
maintain law and order. The leader of the team
who spoke with The Street Journal on condition
of anonymity said the policemen’s presence was
aimed at ensuring that miscreants did not take
advantage of the incident to wreak havoc on
innocent people. He said his men were at the
scene of the accident to prevent looting and allied
nefarious activities of area boys in the
neighborhood.
An eye witness who simply identified himself as
Wasiu explained to The Street Journal that many
youngsters were under the bridge discussing the
sad outcome of the today’s football match
between Nigeria and Sudan which Nigeria lost by
one goal to nil when the accident occurred.
He said he counted no fewer than fifty burnt
bodies that littered the roads. He said that he
narrowly escaped death as he jumped inside the
gutter to avoid the rampaging inferno that trailed
the spilled over fuel.