A PETROL-LADEN tanker has fallen along the Lambata–Lapai–Agaie Road in Niger State, causing tension among residents and motorists in the area.
News Point Nigeria reports that the incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday at Takalafiya village, under the Lapai Local Government Area, when the truck, said to have departed Lagos for Kano, overturned and spilled some of its content.
A resident of Lapai town, Mallam Mahmud Abubakar, told our correspondent by telephone that the accident scene is barely two kilometres away from the town.
He added that the portion of the road where the tanker fell had recently been reconstructed under the ongoing NNPCL intervention project but had already begun to deteriorate.
Another witness, Mohammed Hassan Sonmaji, said the quick response of the fire service unit of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBUL), Lapai, alongside personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), helped avert what could have turned into a deadly inferno.
He also disclosed that members of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Lapai Chapter, mobilised to the scene to support in stabilising the situation and controlling the spilled fuel.
It was gathered that some of the fuel was safely recovered into containers to reduce wastage and prevent environmental contamination.
Confirming the incident, Director of Information and Special Duties at the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Dr. Ibrahim Audu Hussaini, said there was no cause for panic as the tanker had not exploded.
He said fire trucks from IBBUL remained on standby, while security personnel had been deployed to cordon off the area and prevent potential ignition.
