Five injured as another tanker catches fire

Kogi petrol tanker accident fire

Five persons were injured in an early morning head-on collision between a kerosene tanker and a trailer in Niger State on Friday.

Spokesperson for the Federal Road Safety Corps, Bisi Kazeem, confirmed the incident to a PUNCH correspondent.

Mr Kazeem said the victims have been taken to the hospital.

“No life was lost,” he said.

The spokesman said the accident happened at 0857hrs local time, and that the Corps was notified within two minutes, while first responders arrived the scene in 14 minutes at 0913hrs.

“The accident happened on Suleja-Minna road, specifically in Mallam Karo village, on Friday,” Kazeem said.

He noted that the trailer had no visible number plate, while the fuel tanker was loaded with Kerosene — a highly flammable material.

Kazeem said the fuel tanker belongs to Conoil.

“The cause of the crash was speed violation, leading to loss of control,” Kazeem added.

He said that the nature of the crash was serious, being multiple accidents.

“Victims have been taken to the General Hospital Suleja, as they were attended to by FRSC officials and other security agents such as men of the Nigerian Police Force and Fire Service officials from Suleja.

“The vehicles caught fire after a head-on collision,” he added.

The accident comes hours after a petrol tanker crashed and caught fire on Otedola Bridge in Lagos, killing nine people and destroying 54 cars.