2 dies in Ibadan Auto Crash

By OLA AJAYI & BOSE ADELAJA
IBADAN - Two persons were, yesterday, burnt to death in Ibadan when a vehicle crashed and caught fire.Also property worth millions of naira were destroyed in the auto-crash at Bodija-Aduloju on Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

It was learnt that a driver and two other occupants were in a J5 bus with number-plate XA 142CRC when the accident happened.
The bus was said to have somersaulted and caught fire when trying to avoid an articulated lorry loaded with wood.
The lorry, was reportedly making a U-turn at the spot.

After avoiding the lorry, it hit another lorry parked by the roadside and exploded.
The worshippers at a nearby church and some security guardssaid two of the victims died while one was admitted in an hospital.

The Principal Fire Superintendent, Mr. Olayemi Abdul Rasak, said the accident occurred about 1.35 a.m.
The state Sector Commander ofthe Federal Road Safety Corps, Godwin Ogagaoghene, also confirmed the incident.
Fire in Badagry
Meantime, disaster occurred in Badagry area of the state, weekend, when a truck loaded with diesel rammed into pillars suspending high tension cables servicing Olorunda Local Council Development Area resulting in fire.

The incident which occurred at Magbon-Obele road caused gridlock in the area.
Eyewitnesses said the fire also affected four buildings in the area but the timely arrival of Lagos State fire fighters and Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, prevented the incident from escalating as it had caused panic among residents.
An eyewitness, Mr. Goke Amodu, told Vanguard that some road-users put a distress call across the emergency officials who responded without delay.

Eyewitnesses said the driver of the truck attempted to flee the scene but was arrested and taken to a nearby police station.
Some residents said many lives would have been lost in the disaster if it had occurred on a working day. Also, they appealed to Lagos State Government on implementation of the traffic law to avert further disaster in the city, especially on Mile 2/Badagry Expressway, Apapa/Oshodi Expressway and Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.

Confirming the incident, LASEMA General Manager, Mr. Femi Osanyintolu, said no life was lost in the incident.
He said: ‘’About 4 p.m. on Saturday, a truck loaded with diesel rammed into the pillars of high tension cables which resulted into fire. This happenedat Magbon- Obele road in the Olorunda Local Council Development Area, Badagry. Four houses were affected, but there was no casualty as the situation was well-managed.’’