Occupants of six vehicles on Saturday narrowly escaped being consumed by fire after a petroleum tanker exploded on Otedola Bridge along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

Although the number of the occupants could not be ascertained, the burnt vehicles included a diesel tanker with the number plate, KSF269 XY; a 40-foot containerised truck, marked, ENU814YS, another diesel-laden tanker, the number plate, KSF271 XY and a 20-feet containerised truck.

Others were a car and a truck burnt beyond recognition.

Emergency responders comprising Lagos State Fire Service and Lagos State Emergency Management Agency battled for several hours to put out the fire which occurred around 2.45am.

LASEMA General Manager, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the tanker that caused the explosion had collided with a truck while heading inward Berger.

He said, “The agency responders from the Alausa centre were about concluding the recovery of a truck laden with a 40-foot container that fell yesterday night (Friday) on Otedola Bridge, inward Berger, when a tanker about 300 metres away from the fallen truck exploded around 2am. All the occupants escaped and no casualty was recorded.

“The affected trucks were removed with the aid of the agency’s heavy-duty equipment and handed over to the police officers from Isheri Police Station thereby restoring the road for vehicular activities.”

The Acting Controller, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Mrs. Margaret Adeseye, said firefighters salvaged another tanker containing 45,000 litres of diesel “from being razed by the inferno that destroyed six other vehicles.”

“The cause of the fire is still unknown; investigation is ongoing. The rescue operation lasted throughout the night. No life was lost in the incident,” she added.