A tanker carrying 45,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, overturned on Thursday at Isimi, Epe, Lagos State, spilling its contents onto the road.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency confirmed the incident in a statement signed by its Permanent Secretary, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu.
LASEMA said the tanker, with registration number T-18212LA, was involved in an accident while attempting to manoeuvre around a stationary Ford pickup van, marked KJA-13FJ.
According to the agency, the pickup van had developed a mechanical fault and was loaded with animal feed when the tanker’s rear tyre slipped into a pit, causing the tanker to overturn onto the van.
The accident resulted in the spillage of the highly inflammable product across the roadway.
LASEMA said it received a distress call at about 10:19am and immediately deployed its LRT Beta Whales Team stationed in Epe to the scene.
The agency activated its multi-agency emergency response protocol, bringing together the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps, Federal Road Safety Corps and the Nigeria Police Force.
Responders cordoned off the affected area, controlled traffic and introduced diversion measures to minimise the risk of a secondary accident.
The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service also applied chemical foam to the overturned tanker and surrounding area as a precaution against a possible fire outbreak.
LASEMA said the affected portion of the road was temporarily closed to traffic while emergency operations were underway.
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It added that the remaining PMS in the damaged tanker was successfully transferred into an empty tanker without incident.
After the operation, both the tanker and the pickup van were removed from the roadway with the assistance of a private tow truck and taken to Ketu Police Station.
The agency confirmed that the road had subsequently been reopened to motorists.
“Fortunately, no loss of life or injury was recorded in the incident,” LASEMA said.
Oke-Osanyintolu commended the emergency responders for their swift intervention and coordination, noting that their professionalism helped avert a potentially serious disaster.
He urged motorists, particularly tanker and other heavy-duty vehicle operators, to ensure their vehicles were mechanically sound and to comply with traffic regulations while driving on Lagos roads.
LASEMA also advised members of the public to report emergencies and road incidents through the 767 or 112 toll-free emergency lines.
