6 hour traffic jam as tanker smashes three cars in Lagos (Photo)

•Motorists held for six hours in traffic

A fully-loaded diesel tanker tumbled yesterday at Mobil junction close to Anthony bus-Stop along the busy Ikorodu road, spilling its contents. 

 

The accident that occurred few minutes past six in the morning affected three other vehicles.

The driver of the tanker with number plate FKJ 915XD was taken away immediately the accident occurred.

Though, no live lost but officers from Bariga Police Station were seen arresting some people scooping the spilled oil when efforts to drive them away by other security agents failed.

Men of the Lagos Fire Service and Lagos State Traffic Management

Authority (LASTMA) officials were quick to report at the scene to contain the situation.

The Nation learnt that the tanker driver was heading towards Ojota before it fell in front of Mutual Trust building.

“The driver was over speeding; nobody can say whether the break failed,” said an eyewitness.

“The road towards Ojota along the Ikorodu is usually free in the morning because many commuters are heading the other way but the driver was over speeding, hence the accident. The head of the vehicle fell in-ward Fadeyi while its body blocked the other way,” he said.

According to him, traffic activities along Anthony were paralised while there was little flow of traffic along the Fadeyi route.

“It took the timely intervention of the LASTMA guys to free the traffic but they did not succeed until 12:30pm, meaning that for over six hours, motorists battled through the traffic to get to their various destinations,” another eyewitness said.

LASTMA Public Relations Officer Bola Ajao appealed to motorists to avoid over speeding, saying that nothing good can be achieved by over speeding.

“Why do we have to killed ourselves all in a bid to out-run other road users or rushing to our destinations. Motorists should avoid hasting while on the road, concentration matters in all we do especially when driving. Thank God no life was lost but the time lost to traffic by other road users cannot be retrieved likewise the damaged vehicles will require a lot of resources to get them back in shape,” she said.

She confirmed that three other cars were involved in the accidents but the owners managed to drive them away.

Meanwhile, another container also fell in front of Hajj Camp near Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday.

It caused a huge traffic along the Oshodi-Airport road.