Death toll in Lagos container accident rises

Three lives were lost on Wednesday evening when a 40ft container-laden

articulated vehicle fell off Ojuelegba Bridge in Lagos and collided
with a black Toyota Corolla Car with Reg. No LSD 532 CN.
The initial death toll was put at one on Wednesday night.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the accident, which happened
few minutes before 4pm, also affected a white Sunny car with Reg. No
DG 750 LND.
Olusegun Olapade, the Lagos State Head of Operations of the Federal
Road Safety Commission , said the articulated vehicle was coming from
the Tin-Can Island Port.
Olapade said: “When the truck driver climbed the Ojuelegba Bridge, he
lost control and the head of the articulated vehicle went off.
“The container with the back body of the truck fell off and collided
with a Toyota Corolla car passing under the bridge and this claimed
the lives of three occupiers of the car.
“The head of the articulated vehicle is still on top of the bridge but
nothing happened to the driver.
“How do we identify the driver with the multiple people around this scene?”
Olapade said the unit had embarked on ‘Operation Scorpion’ to enable
road safety officials to check the state of all trucks on the road.
Olapade said the unit had made appreciable number of arrests
concerning the condition of vehicles, tyres and containers.
He said ‘Operation Scorpion’ would prevent accidents, adding that the
FRSC would enforce strict compliance with the basic rules on the road.
Michael Akindele, the General Manager of the Lagos State Emergency
Management Agency, said the agency had been on ground since 4:45pm to
rescue the situation.
Akindele said: “A fully-loaded container fell on two vehicles.
“We are lucky to have the occupant of the first car not injured and we
had three people in the second car dead.”
Akindele said the agency would take the corpses to a mortuary in Lagos Mainland.
The corpses were moved at 8.47pm.
Also, Henry Akintomide, the Head of Emergency Unit, Lagos State
Traffic Management Authority, said the accident occurred as a result
of over-speed by the truck driver.
Akintomide said the container was sealed up, adding that this made it
difficult to know what was inside it.
He said terminal operators should ascertain the standard of trucks
before loading from the ports.
He, however, urged government to emphasise on the standard of trucks,
which would ply the roads.
Akintomide said some of the trucks moving on Lagos roads were not road worthy.
An eyewitness, Olusola Ogunsola, a Senior Executive Officer of the
National Institute for Sports, said the incident happened at 3.59pm.
Ogunsola said: “I was sitting under the bridge waiting for a friend.
“A lot of people who sat with me drew my attention to those on the
bridge cautioning the driver of the black Corolla car, but could not
hear because he had rolled up his windows.”
Another eyewitness, Yomi Ajayi, a transporter in Apapa, said he
cautioned the driver that the container was bent, while he was passing
Airways Area in Apapa.
Ajayi said some LASTMA officials at Barracks Bus Stop also cautioned
the driver of the truck before the accident happened under Ojuelegba
Bridge.
NAN.