There was panic on Friday at the Fatgbems Filling Station in the Berger
bus stop, Lagos after two artisans, cleaning an underground fuel tank in the
station died of suffocation.
The corpses of the victims identified as Adekunle Ipaye and one United
were removed around 8am by the state emergency officials and the police while
their remains were deposited at Lagos Mainland Mortuary.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that
United, an apprentice, was inside the tank around 6am to remove the sediment
therein when he got trapped. While his boss, Ipaye, attempted to rescue him, he
was also entrapped.
It was gathered that the
deceased did not use necessary safety gadgets before embarking on the task and
could not contain the gas emitted from the tank.
Our correpondent also learnt
that other contractors at the station were arrested by the police from the
Ojodu division.
An eyewitness, who identified
himself as Salako Famuyiwa, said the boss was warned against the rescue
mission adding that the tank was too deep.
He said, “The station is under
construction and the underground tanks also need to be cleaned. It was United
that entered the tank first. After some minutes, it was noticed that his
presence was not felt. Out of care, his boss rushed inside to rescue him but he
was also suffocated. We told him not to go inside.”
The Lagos State Emergency
Management Agency and the state fire service, which removed the remains, said
non-compliance of the deceased to the safety measures contributed to the
incident.
Source: THE PUNCH
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