A 12-tyre articulated truck and a commercial bus were involved in a multi-vehicle collision in the Ogudu-Alapere region of Lagos State. Two people were retrieved alive after the disaster.
After the accident on the busy highway, officials from the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) quickly launched a rescue effort to free the two people trapped inside the commercial truck.
A fully laden DAF articulated truck and a commercial Volkswagen T4 bus with registration number AA 60 YF were involved in the accident, according to a statement made by Adebayo Taofiq, the Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA.
According to preliminary investigations, a commercial bus was involved in a severe collision that caused it to somersault, ensnaring the driver and one passenger within the severely damaged vehicle. On the impacted stretch of road, the incident also produced a substantial obstruction.
Rescue operations were launched by LASTMA officials who were on routine traffic monitoring patrol within the Toll-Gate corridor in response to the emergency. The goal was to save lives, avoid other accidents, and restore free flow of traffic.
Officials from the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) were able to quickly evacuate the victims from the wrecked bus after the agency’s policemen and other first responders freed them from the vehicle.
After the collision, the area around it was blocked off and protected to protect rescue workers, emergency personnel, and anyone else using the road.
Along with other security personnel, officers from the Nigeria Police Force’s Ketu Division helped keep the throng under control and the operation running well.
Officials from LASTMA instituted traffic diversion and control measures to alleviate accident-related congestion, and the damaged vehicles were removed from the roadway so that normal traffic circulation could resume.
When asked about the event, LASTMA General Manager Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki lauded the officers’ professionalism, courage, and quick reaction time during the rescue mission.
Rescue operations in Lagos State were successful, he added, demonstrating the agency’s dedication to saving lives, making communities safer, and managing traffic efficiently.
Motorists, particularly those operating articulated trucks or providing commercial transportation services, are urged by Bakare-Oki to practise defensive driving, adhere to traffic laws and check the mechanical condition of their vehicles before setting out on any trip.
Nobody should ever put themselves in harm’s way on our roadways by engaging in careless driving, risky passing, excessive speeding, or any other traffic violation that could cause an avoidable accident.
Everyone on the road has an obligation to keep the dignity and safety of human life as their first priority at all times. Putting safety at risk is not an acceptable option for any excursion, according to Bakare-Oki.
Driving safely on the state’s highways and other important roadways is everyone’s job, he said, so drivers should be extra careful, patient, and disciplined.