Thousands of commuters plying the Ibadan-Ife expressway were stranded for several hours on Saturday when a petrol laden tanker exploded and got burnt.
Two articulated trucks, one 18-seater bus, two small commercial cabs, one tricycle and three motorcycles were also completely burnt in the incident.
But no life was lost in the incident, which happened close to Iyana-Ajia Bridge, Egbeda area, Ibadan, the Oyo state capital city.
The incident happened around 4:30pm on the Ibadan axis of the Ibadan-Ife Express road, very close to the ongoing Iyana-Ajia bridge.
Eye witnesses disclosed that the incident occurred when the fuel laden tanker, in an attempt to follow the diversion directed by the contractor handling the ongoing pedestrian bridge at Iyana-Ajia, got the wheels stuck, which led to spilling on fuel on the road.
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The witness explained the spilling continued for about ten minutes which enabled people nearby and vehicles around to scamper for safety before the tanker eventually exploded in flames.
However, it was gathered the affected vehicles and motorcycles were trying to be smart by attempting to maneuver their way and make a U-turn back to Egbeda-Ibadan axis, but quickly abandoned their vehicles as soon as they see traces of fire before the eventual explosion.
For about two hours that the tanker burnt, all vehicular movement was restricted.
Commercial vehicles who tried to access the main roads through the adjoining streets had a terrible experience due to the bad condition of the roads.
When The Nation visited, no fire truck was on sight.
It was observed that a few officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps were trying to understudy the situation.
Cases of explosions have become very frequent in recent times with many causing fatalities.
On June, two persons died after a tanker suspected to be carrying Liquefied Natural Gas exploded at the Obiri-Ikwerre flyover along the East-West on the outskirts of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
It was gathered that the explosion occurred after the tanker skidded off while trying to negotiate the bypass on the flyover and went up in flames, trapping a salon car with two occupants.
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