Tragedy was averted yesterday April 9, 2016 at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Ikeja, after a brave petrol tanker driver and his conductor put their lives at huge risk to save a situation that would have resulted into a huge disaster both for entire Lagos Airport and its environs.
According to Nation newspaper, the tanker driver was said to have jumped into the petrol tanker after discovering it had caught fire and drove it far away from the midst of other tankers awaiting loading in the area. He summoned courage and drove the burning petrol tanker over a distance of 100 metres away from the tankers’ bay.
The tanker driver, Ajibade Ademola caught fire in the process and jumped into a nearby well to save his life as the petrol tanker exploded. He was rescued by bystanders and later taken to a nearby hospital for medical care.
Eyewitnesses said they couldn’t have imagined what could have happened. They commended the driver for his bravery saying that he saved everyone from a huge disaster as there were over 2,000 tankers parked around the place and some of them were fully loaded.
The hero of the day, Ademola who spoke to Nation newspaper said he didn’t know how exactly the fire started.
“I do not know what really happened. The only thing I know is that I was on fire and people were running. I started running too. The first thing that came to my mind was to jump into the well so that I could put out the fire.
“That was how I jumped and after putting out the fire, I came out of the well. But I was in serious pains and people assisted me and FRSC people also brought me to the hospital,” he said.
Officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were on ground, continuously blanketing the fuel to avoid a resurgence of the inferno.
The Director, state fire service, Rasaq Fadipe and LASEMA General Manager, Michael Akindele both confirmed the incident.
Michael Akindele said: “Investigation conducted by the Agency’s ERT revealed that a truck with registration number DKA369XF laden with PMS was ablaze and the truck driver, having noticed that his truck was on fire, hurriedly drove it away from their parking lot, which had several other trucks.
“The truck driver and one other person sustained several degrees of burnt on their bodies. Three other trucks with registration number XR998KSF, XP961KTU and XW 158EPE and a stationary saloon car were all destroyed by the inferno.
Photo Credit: Nation newspaper
News - Inside Mainland
Comments
Post a Comment
Drop your comments. Thank you