Tanker crashes into vehicles in Osun, injures five

Tragedy was averted in Osogbo, the Osun State capital
on Friday, as a truck laden with fuel crashed into six
vehicles including three commercial buses.
Our correspondent gathered that the accident was
caused as a result of break failure suffered by the truck
bearing 33,000 litres of premium motor spirit.
The driver of the tanker marked, Lagos AGL 804XK,
was said to have struggled to manoeuvre the vehicle
and he eventually stopped it just before it plunged into
the drainage.Despite this, the tanker crushed a Toyota
Camry; Toyota Carina; Honda Civic and three mini
commercial buses.
Officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps, were said to
have rescued some of the passengers who were injured
in the crash .
Five passengers from the commercial buses were
reportedly injured while three were taken to a hospital
for treatment and the others went away on their own to
treat their injuries.
The rear side of the Toyota Camry was badly damaged
by the impact of the tanker but the degree of the
damage varied on the vehicles involved.
One of the eye witnesses, Doyin Omotoso, told our
correspondent at the scene of the accident that the
tanker driver hooted continuously as the truck was
descending the slope having realised that the truck
had suffered brake failure.
The driver of the tanker was said to have fled the scene
but he was later brought to the scene.
The accident caused a traffic snarl, but the prompt
response by the officials of the Federal Road Safety
Corps, restored sanity in no time.
Omotoso said, ” The tanker driver blared the horn
continuously and everybody knew that the vehicle had
developed brake failure.
“I thank God that the tanker did not fall eventually and
non of the victims died. Many lives would have been
lost if the tanker had fallen because the fuel would have
spilled and it would have entered into Osun River and
you can imagine the extent of the damage if it should
catch fire.”
The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety
Coprs, Mr. Mohammed Hussain, who confirmed the
incident to our correspondent said one person was
injured.
The sector commander said seven vehicles were
involved in the accident including the petrol tanker.
He said, ” Seven vehicles were involved in the accident
including the tanker and one person was injured; we
thank God the tanker did not fall. It would have been a
great tragedy but we thank God for averting the loss.”
Hussaini warned drivers against putting faulty vehicles
on the road, saying his men would get any vehicle not
found to be road worthy impounded.