ABOUT 30 homes and businesses were on Monday razed in Omitowoju area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, in a late afternoon inferno when a tanker trailer transporting flammable material believed to be petrol tipped over on a roadway.
Eyewitness accounts reveal that the tanker was negotiating its way around Inalende road towards the Mokola roundabout when the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to tip over and spill its flammable content of the 33,000-liter tank.
According to reports, the driver of the tanker took the densely populated area because the Dugbe/Mokola roadway was closed for the construction of an overhead bridge in Mokola by the state government.
The blaze from the accident resulted in long traffic delays in the area. Personnel from the state fire service struggled to put out the blaze, assisted by civilian sympathizers at the scene.
Residents and business owners in the area had rushed out of their homes to see the fallen tanker-trailer, an action that may have saved many whose homes and businesses were consumed by the inferno.
It remains unclear if any life was lost in the incident.