Two killed as tanker, truck collide on Lagos’ Lekki–Epe Expressway

The accident occurred in the early hours of the day when a 20-tonne tipper truck reportedly travelling at high speed from the Epe axis rammed into a stationary 30-tonne gas tanker positioned on the highway.

Two persons were killed on Saturday after a fuel-laden tanker and a tipper truck collided along the Lekki–Epe Expressway in the Sangotedo area of Lagos State, triggering a fire that spread to nearby buildings and vehicles.

The accident occurred in the early hours of the day when a 20-tonne tipper truck reportedly travelling at high speed from the Epe axis rammed into a stationary 30-tonne gas tanker positioned on the highway.

In a statement on Saturday, the Controller-General of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, said that the impact ignited a fire which quickly escalated beyond the point of collision.

She said the flames spread to three warehouses and about 10 roadside shops, including a gym and a generator house, before firefighters eventually brought the situation under control.

Ms Adeseye added that the fire also posed a serious threat to a nearby Total filling station, where a fully loaded 33,000-litre petrol tanker was stationed, but said a larger explosion was averted.

“After the blaze was extinguished, three Sienna buses, one Toyota Corolla, and a forklift within the vicinity were recovered from the scene,” she said.

The agency confirmed that the driver of the tipper truck and his assistant were burnt beyond recognition, while the driver of the gas tanker escaped unhurt.

Emergency responders later commenced evacuation and removal of the wreckage to restore movement along the Lekki–Epe Expressway, with traffic gradually returning to normal.

But the officials have not yet clarified why the gas tanker was stationary on the expressway at the time of the crash.

Deadly crashes on Lagos highways

The incident is the latest in a series of fatal road crashes recorded on major corridors in Lagos State, many of which have involved commercial buses, articulated trucks, and tankers.

Last week, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) said four passengers were killed and four others injured in a road accident involving a truck and a commercial mini bus along the Lekki–Epe Expressway in Lagos.

According to the agency, the crash occurred opposite Beechwood, Shapati, inward Ajah, along the busy expressway corridor.

The agency’s Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, Adebayo Taofiq said the accident involved a HOWO truck with registration number KNN 313 YL and a fully loaded Suzuki commercial mini bus, popularly known as a “Korope.”

In a separate crash on the Oworonsoki–Apapa Expressway near the New Castle Bus Stop inward Gbagada recently, one person was killed while six others sustained serious injuries after a commercial bus reportedly lost control and struck a roadside culvert.

LASTMA said the impact of the crash forcefully ejected a female passenger onto the expressway, where she was later crushed by an oncoming articulated truck.

Mr Taofiq said six other occupants of the bus, including the driver, sustained varying degrees of injury, while the truck driver fled the scene.

In another incident on New Year’s Day, two people were killed and several others injured in multiple crashes across Lagos, including a collision involving a commercial bus and a Toyota Sienna at Iyana Itire inward Oshodi.

On the same day, a tanker crash along the Ibeju Bridge inward Eleko on the Lekki–Ajah Expressway left two persons critically injured, while four others were injured in a separate crash along the Ikorodu Road corridor.

Earlier in the year, six worshippers were killed when a truck loaded with sharp sand rammed into a branch of the Redeemed Christian Church of God along Hospital Road in Epe shortly after an evening service.