No fewer than five persons than have been reportedly burnt beyond recognition while three others sustained injuries in a fatal accident on the Badagry-Seme Expressway in Lagos on Thursday.
Mr Sulaiman Taiwo, Unit Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) at Badagry, confirmed the accident.
The accident which according to him occured at Akoro Village, on the Badagry-Sème Expressway involved a Honda Pilot SUV with registration number LSR 772 HE and motorcycle with unidentifiable registration number.
He 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 has restored normalcy to the area.
Also speaking with newsmen Medical Director, General Hospital, Badagry, Dr Olatunde Bakare, said some relations of the dead had reported to claim the 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.