THE Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) says one person died in a multiple-car crash that occurred on the Otedola Bridge section of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway Wednesday morning.
The agency in a series of tweets said the accident involved a containerised truck and several cars.
This accident involves a containerized truck, a pickup and a high capacity bus as well as several cars. Casualties still trapped in the pickup. The road is totally blocked for now. Emergency agencies are on ground.@TrafficChiefNG @Gidi_Traffic @trafficbutter @lagostelevision
— LASTMA (@followlastma) October 23, 2019
The accident caused heavy traffic on the road and also left travelers on the section of the highway stranded.
However, the details of the accident were sketchy as multiple sources including eyewitnesses said the accident claimed several lives and left some trapped, LASTMA confirmed one person dead so far.
According to the agency, the injured victims have been taken to various hospitals for treatment.
Other rescue team at the scene, include: Men of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command, Lagos State Fire Service, Federal Road Safety Ciro’s, FRSC, among others.
Otedola bridge has become notorious for fatal accidents in recent times. On September 20, 2019, a diesel tanker fell off while driving along the bridge.
While on October 12, 2019, a tanker with full capacity of 45000 litres of petrol fell off the same bridge. The fuel was immediately trans-loaded by Lagos State Emergency Management Agency to avoid explosion while causing major traffic.
Meanwhile, motorists have been urged to make use of alternative routes.
“Anyone going out of Lagos should take either Otedola under bridge or go through Ogba-Ojodu-Berger axis to connect the Lagos Ibadan Expressway and move on their journey,” LASTMA announced.
Abeeb Alawiye formerly works with The ICIR as a Reporter/Social Media officer. Now work as a Senior Journalist with BBC News Yoruba. You can shoot him an email via [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @habsonfloww