Precious Igbonwelundu
THERE was chaos at around Mile Two area of Lagos Two after a tanker laden with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) spilled its content.
The 33,000 litre tanker heading towards Badagry suddenly suffered leakage from the top as a result of a puncture, forcing the PMS to gush out.
While motorists plying the busy road were immediately halted and the road barricaded to prevent fire outbreak, some commercial motorcyclists, tricycle operators and street urchins took turns to scoop the product.
In no time, buckets carrying young men attacked the tanker with such fierceness with some climbing it to fill their containers.
Numbering over 50, they kept coming back to scoop more of the PMS not minding getting drenched in it despite warning from onlookers that they were putting themselves at risk.
It took the intervention of soldiers, officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), community security and other operatives to chase them away so that fire fighters could wet the ground and prevent a disaster.
Our correspondent who was commuting that axis reports that it took motorists two hours to arrive Mile Two bridge from Fagbems Bus Stop.
All vehicles closed to the scene were turned off and towed off the highway to give way for rescue workers who had to navigate through Amuwo Odofin.
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Officials said the tanker lost about half of its content to the spillage before it was eventually taken off the road.
Contacted, the Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) Dr. Femi Oke-Osayintolu said rescuers acted swiftly as soon as they got the information, adding that the place was immediately cordoned off.
Although he denied knowledge that scores of people scooped PMS from the tanker, Osayintolu reminded residents that Lagos was a cosmopolitan and disciplined state.
He said: “I am not aware of scooping. People have been saying it but scooping PMS is not part of Lagos State. When it rared its ugly head sometime ago, we condemned it in its entirety because it is foreign to us.”
Osayintolu said LASEMA also secured a broken down truck by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) .
He said the 40ft container laden truck broke down as a result of a damaged right hub.
“No life was lost and there was no injury. The area was cordoned off and the tilted container stabilised,” he said.
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