Six people, including a biker, were crushed to death by a petrol-filled trailer on Tuesday in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, while several others suffered varied degrees of injuries.
About five tricycles were reportedly crushed by the truck, which was allegedly transporting 45,000 liters of Premium Motor Spirit.
The accident happened at the Fruits Market along the Oje-Beere highway in the state’s Ibadan South-East Local Government Area, according to the Mapo Police who visited the scene.
As the truck descended the congested Mapo-Beere-Oje road, witnesses blamed the collision on brake failure.
Ademola Aderibigbe, one of the affected tricycle riders, claimed he miraculously escaped death after his tricycle was struck by the tanker despite suffering a minor leg injury.
“I was very lucky. I had just left a mechanic workshop and was testing my tricycle around the Beere roundabout when I suddenly heard a loud noise. The impact pushed me aside. By the time I got out with an injury on my leg, the trailer had already sped off towards the Oje axis,” he said.
In the process, he said, a number of tricycles were crushed.
Suleiman Oguntayo, another eyewitness, commented on the frequent incidents along the road.
“The driver lost control at the Beere end of the road and ran over two tricycles, killing passengers before heading towards Oje market.
Efforts to stop the truck failed as it continued and killed more people there. The victims died on the spot, while others injured are receiving treatment in hospitals,” he said.
Oguntayo demanded that the area’s ongoing accidents be addressed by the state and local governments as well as the pertinent law enforcement organizations.
A distraught family member of one of the victims described the loss in tears at the Mapo Divisional Police Station.
“My brother just named his daughter three days ago. I thought he would survive, but he later died in the hospital. He left behind a 10-day-old baby,” the relative said.
Another eyewitness, an okada rider known only as Gafaru, asserted that the death toll might be higher than previously reported, pointing out that some dead had not yet been identified.
A senior police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the occurrence and stated that the matter would be forwarded to the Criminal inquiry Department for additional inquiry.
Olayinka Ayanlade, the state’s police public relations officer, confirmed the accident as well, although as of the time of report, the precise number of casualties was unknown.
