17 persons burnt to death on Lagos-Ibadan expressway as petrol tanker catches fire

No fewer than 17 persons lost their lives in a head-on collision involving a Mazda bus and a petroleum tanker at about 5.00 am on Friday, before Isara bridge, on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

In a statement by the Public Education Sector Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Commander Florence Okpe said route violation was the suspected cause of the accident.

She noted that the head-on collision resulted in a fire outbreak, adding that three bodies have been identified while others burnt beyond recognition.

The FRSC officer said the vehicles were partially obstructing the service lane, while adding that the command could not really be ascertained which of the vehicles was at fault, saying that the bus was coming from Lagos while the tanker was coming from Ibadan.

Okpe added that only one male, one female and one female child could only be identified out of the deceased.

Meanwhile, the Ogun FRSC Sector Commander, Ahmed Umar, described the crash as an avoidable one with caution and obedience to traffic rules and regulations.

Umar commiserated with the families of the victims, enjoining them to contact the FRSC office in Ogere for more information about the crash.