A truck driver has been confirmed dead and his assistant sustained severe degrees of burns after a tanker landen with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) exploded in Ibadan, Oyo State.
It was learnt that the accident occurred after the tanker experienced brake failure, rammed into two other trucks, and somersaulted into a nearby pit before bursting into fire.
The General Manager, Oyo State Fire Services Agency, Yemi Akinyinka, confirmed the incident in a statement made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Ibadan.
He explained that the tanker lost control, rammed into two other trucks, and somersaulted into a nearby pit before bursting into fire.
The fire service boss said the incident resulted in the death of the tanker driver and injured the motor boy.
“The incident happened around Fijabi House, Agbowo, Ojoo/Iwo Road Expressway. The agency received a distress call about the fire incident at exactly 2.45 a.m. through a telephone call.
“The service swiftly deployed personnel to the scene and curtailed the fire from spreading to the nearby residential area.
“On arrival, we met three trucks of 20-metre distance from one another involved in the fire incident,
“The driver was burnt to death while the motor boy was rescued alive and taken to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, for treatment,” he said.
Akinyinka stressed that the tanker was utterly destroyed by the fire while the other two trucks were rescued by the agency’s personnel.
“The agency’s Director of Operations, Ismail Adeleke, with team members, the police, and some other security agencies were at the scene to prevent a breakdown of law and order,” he said.
