Three persons have been burnt beyond recognition while 2 others were injured on Monday night when a tanker laden with diesel crashed along Felele-Abuja express way in Lokoja.
According to an eye witness the fire from the accident which occured at about 10pm burnt two other trailers and a Dyna Pickup
Recall that a tanker accident at Felele, on September 23, 2020, killed 23 persons
A catalogue of accidents on the same high way include that of December 26, 2007; March 9, 2010; July 28, 2017; November 18, 2019; January 13, 2020; September 23, 2020.
Traffic was at stand still due to the intensity of the fire until after subsidence of the fire when Operatives’of FRSC conducted traffic control to clear the hold up that had built-up.
The source explained that an articulate vehicle laden with diesel, two trailers carrying containers heading for Abuja and other vehicles were involved in the accident.
It was further gathered that the truck heading towards Abuja road corridor lost control around Living Faith Church after Felele NNPC filling station in Lokoja as a result of break failure ramming into two trailers carrying containers, crashed followed by explosion
Security agents were drafted to the scene of the accident, while officers of the Federal Road Safety Corp took control of the traffic to pave way for evacuation of the dead bodies from the scene of the accident.
The Kogi Sector Commander, Federal Road Safely Corps (FRSC), Mr Stephen Dawulung who visited the scene said The Dyna Pick-Up van that was parked by the road side and 2 other vehicles were affected by the fire.
He called on drivers of articulated vehicles especially those carrying flammable products to always be cautious and drive within the regulated speed limit.
He also cautioned that they should also maintain all vehicle safety protocols like the use of safety valves to prevent spillages of content in the event of crash.
He noted that the two persons that were injured have been rush d to Federal Medical Center Lokoja for treatment as he called on the federal government to put more bumps on that road in order to slowdown vehicles speed.
