Five persons were burnt beyond recognition while three others sustained injuries in a fatal accident on the Badagry-Seme Expressway in Lagos on Thursday.
The Unit Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps at Badagry, Mr Sulaiman Taiwo, confirmed the accident.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria that the accident occurred at Akoro Village, on the Badagry-Sème Expressway.
The accident involved a Honda Pilot SUV with registration number LSR 772 HE and a motorcycle with an unidentifiable registration number.
Taiwo said the driver of the Honda Pilot must have been over-speeding and lost control before hitting the motorcycle laden with petrol.
“The driver of the jeep collided with the motorcycle resulting in an explosion.
“By the time we got to the scene, the raging fire had burnt three persons beyond recognition, while two others lost their lives during the rescue operation.
“Three persons that survived the inferno were taken to the General Hospital in Badagry while the five corpses were deposited at the mortuary in the same hospital,’’ he said.
Taiwo added that the prompt response by personnel of the Customs Service, Fire Brigade, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the police have restored normalcy to the area.
Also speaking with NAN, Medical Director, General Hospital, Badagry, Dr Olatunde Bakare, said some relations of the dead had claimed bodies, while the three survivors were receiving treatment at the Emergency Unit of the hospital.
He urged motorists and other road users to stop carrying petrol inside jerry cans in their vehicles as the rate at which the hospital was treating victims of fire incidents was alarming.
(NAN)
