A petroleum tanker carrying 33,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, exploded in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo state.
The explosion took place at the Celica intersection on Ibadan’s new Ife expressway on Thursday.
According to eyewitnesses, the explosion occurred as a result of a brake failure, which caused the truck to lose control.
One of the witnesses said, “The tanker hit a Prado jeep and another car. And in the process, the tanker fell and exploded.
“Although no casualty was recorded, the fire affected the car and the Prado jeep.”
The state Fire Service Chairman, Maroof Akinwande, confirmed the incident in a message to our correspondent in Ibadan, the state capital, and said that no casualties were recorded.
He said, “The incident was reported at exactly 18.27 hrs on Thursday.
“The firemen swiftly swung into action by applying a chemical foam compound and restricted the fire from spreading to the nearby Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation petrol station and surrounding properties. The fire was jointly extinguished with officers from the Federal Fire Service.
“The fire incident was a result of the failure of the breaking-in system of the truck while in motion, which made the vehicle lose control, hit a Prado jeep and a car, then fall and catch fire.
“No casualty was recorded, but the fire affected the trailer tanker and a car, while a Jeep was hit by the trailer into the nearby gutter,” he explained.
