Dayo Johnson and Sikiru Akinola, Ibadan
For several hours yesterday, traffic was halted following multiple auto crashes that led to the death of four commuters on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Akinyele Local Government Area, Oyo State.
Three different accidents occurred in close succession between 50 and 60 metres.
It was gathered that the accidents occurred around 9am.
Witnesses said an accident involving a petrol tanker happened first.
The source added that the tanker driver lost control of the vehicle while trying to avoid a hitch.
The petrol-laden tanker went up in flames.
Also, a container-laden truck on its way to Oyo collided with a commercial bus while trying to avoid the burning tanker.
Some occupants of the vehicles were said to have died. Others were badly injured.
On the other side of the road, three commercial vehicles driving towards Ibadan also crashed, leaving some of the passengers badly injured.
A witness, Kunle Alao, while commenting on the multiple accidents, said they occurred “like bomb explosions in a split-second”.
“We heard the loud bang and ran away. Then another crash happened and then the third crash,” he said.
Some officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and policemen were deployed to the sites to rescue victims trapped in one of the damaged vehicles.
Another tragedy struck in Ibadan yesterday as a tenant in a flat lost his possessions to an afternoon fire, which occurred on Ayetoro Street at Oke-Itunu, Ibadan.
The flat, which is one of the four in the one-storey building, was completely razed, except for a Bible.
Furniture, television set, a digital compact decoder, refrigerator, clothes, a laptop, and other valuables were burnt.
It was gathered that the inferno, which started around 3pm, was prevented from spreading to the other flats through the combined efforts of the men of the state Fire Service and residents.
Though the cause of the fire was unknown, some residents claimed it might be due to power surge.
“It happened a few minutes after light was restored,” a resident told The Nation.
The victim, who was visibly shaking and in his late 60s, could only answer: “I have lost everything I laboured for. I don’t know where to start again. We are just grateful that we did not lose anybody, except our properties.”
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