Tanker fire kills mother, 2 children, razes 16 houses in Ogun •2 children escape death as building burns in Lagos

THREE persons — a mother and her two children — were burnt to death on Wednesday night, at Idi-Iroko area in Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State, as a result of a fire incident.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that no fewer than 16 houses and shops in the area were also razed down by the fire.
The victims were already asleep when a fully loaded petroleum tanker fell on Agosasa road and spilled its contents which resulted in fire.
The victims were reported to have burnt beyond recognition. They were identified as Mrs Abosede Amosun, Joseph Amosun (9) and Serah (7). The woman was the wife of Baale of Ago-Egun, Chief Kolade Amosun.
The source said, “it was a serious incident, we were already in bed when it happened. A tanker was going to a nearby filling station to unload its contents when it fell and spilled its content which resulted in a fire.
“It was so bad because it happened in the night when people were already asleep. A family of three was wiped out, while about 15 people were seriously injured in the inferno.”
An eyewitness told the Nigerian Tribune that the last child of the victims’ family survived the incident. She is said to be receiving medical attention at a General Hospital in the locality.
The Unit Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Irunoje David Abiodun, confirmed the incident, disclosing that the tanker belonged to some smugglers who were into the business of bunkering.
He said that a fuel-laden articulated vehicle marked LAGOS AAA 36 XA, lost control and rammed into two other tankers before it went on fire.
“I think there was a spark from the tanker and then it caught fire. The two children and the mother were burnt beyond recognition,” he said.
Abiodun said that the men of the command were at the scene of the incident after receiving distress calls from residents.
He explained that the men of the state Fire Service were also at the scene of the incident.
Abiodun added that the mother who sustained serious burns later gave up the ghost on Thursday morning at the General Hospital.
“Their bodies have been deposited at the General Hospital, Ipokia, while others in critical conditions are still receiving treatment,”  he said.
The Unit Commander thereafter urged both commercial and private vehicle drivers to observe rules and regulations guiding safe driving.
In a related development, a fire outbreak resulting from an electrical spark on Thursday morning engulfed  a one-storey building located at  number 66, Igando-Ikotun Road by Unity Bus stop, Lagos, destroying property worth thousands of naira, but there was no loss of life.
According to one of the tenants, Pastor Bamidele Anthony, who was at home when the incident started,  the fire incident started at about 10.00 a.m. due to an electrical spark which then dropped on some chairs parked close to where the electrical spark started, escalating the fire to the ceiling from where it spread to other apartments.
The one storey building, which has about four self-contained apartments located upstairs was seriously affected as three out of the four apartments were burnt down, leaving only one which escaped the fire due to the timely intervention of men of the fire brigade located at Ikotun who arrived at the affected building 10 minutes after the fire started.
One of the  other tenants, Mr Macaulay Abutoa  from Delta State who has lived in the affected building for one and the half years  told Nigerian Tribune that he is very grateful to God for saving the life of his two children, Oghenerukevwe (13) and Marvelous (3), who were trapped in the inferno before they were miraculously rescued by one Mr Afeez who risked his life to save them when all hope was lost. He recalled that he was not at home at the time of the incident.
3 die in Lagos-Ibadan Expressway auto-crash
Meanwhile, an accident,  which ocurred in the early hours of Thursday on  the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, claimed  three lives, while 12 others were injured.
 The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Lagos-bound Toyota Hiace bus, which was coming from Osogbo, lost control after one of its tyres got burst in front of  Guru Maharaji village,  close to Ibadan.
The Oyo State FRSC Sector Commander, Mr Godwin Ogagaoghene,  who confirmed the incident, said  the vehicle, with Lagos registration number YB 65 MUS, was conveying  15 passengers.
 Ogagaoghene said that two  male passengers and  the driver  died on the spot, while  two women and 10 men sustained injuries.
He attributed the cause of the accident to overspeeding.
“Action has been taken, as those injured were immediately rushed to the State Hospital, Adeoyo,  by our rescue team  where they are receiving treatment.
“The corpses  of those who died have been deposited at the University College Hospital (UCH) morgue and relatives of the victims have been advised to go there to identify their  folks,”  he said.

He said a total sum of N360, 275 belonging to the victims was recovered from the crash scene.