Funmi Olaitan, Ibadan

Tragedy struck along Eleyele-Ologuneru road, Ibadan, yesterday as a petrol tanker fire claimed the life of a yet-to-be-identified woman and destroyed property worth millions of naira.

The fire which started around 11am according to eye witness was triggered when the truck loaded with 33,000 litres of diesel had difficulty ascending the hilly Ologuneru road from Eleyele bridge axis of the road.

It was learnt that the difficulty led to the tanker detaching from the truck-head of the vehicle and falling on a Nissan Almera vehicle while spilling its content in the process.

The car was said to have been occupied by a yet-to-be-identified woman, who was burnt beyond recognition.

Aside from the casualty at the scene, five houses and property along the  path were also torched as the diesel content found its way into the Eleyele river about 300metres away.

Five houses close to the scene of the accident were razed by the inferno, with many of the property owners yet to determine extent of their losses.

A newly renovated, tastefully furnished residential bungalow with property worth millions including a madza3 car with registration number LSR 208EJ and other valuables were also burnt beyond repair.

Worse hit is a newly renovated church belonging to Save and Serve Ministry including the church office which was completely burnt with nothing to spare. 

The church, which was the closest to the Eleyele river where the diesel content of the trailer found its way, was said to have just been renovated as a result of the demolition of some parts of the building for the ongoing road dualisation project.

Fire fighters from the state fire service were seen battling the fire before it was finally put out

Other security operatives at the scene include men of Nigerian Police Force, Eleyele Division, NPF Special Rescue Squad and officials of Federal Road Safety Corps.

It took the combined effort of FRSC officials and police who forcefully hacked a part of the burnt car to recover the badly burnt body of the occupant.

It would be recalled that construction work is on-going on the road, with some houses partly demolished recently to give room for expansion.

One of the owners of property initially marked for demolition was said to have taken the state government to court to challenge the authourity to demolish part of his building for the road project.

As at the time of filling the report, the identity of the woman, her car, the truck, its driver or where the truck was heading to were yet to be ascertained.