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There seems to be no stopping the galore of container falls in Lagos State as several containers fell on Friday.
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All container falls luckily resulted in no casualty.
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The constant falls persist despite efforts by the Lagos government to curb them.
Eko Hot Blog reports that at least five 40ft containers fell in different areas of Lagos State on Friday.
The incidents happened at Ikeja Underbridge, Mile 12, Ketu, Ojuelegba, and Ago-Palace areas of the state.
EDITOR’S PICKS
OJUELEGBA BRIDGE INCIDENT
Early Friday morning, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) announced that a 40ft container fell off a trailer on Ojuelegba bridge inward Stadium.
The agency noted that traffic was diverted on the bridge as the incident blocked the entire main carriage way.
“#Ojuelegba #RoadIncident A 40ft container fell off a trailer on Ojuelegba bridge inward Stadium blocking the entire main carriage way now. Diversion in progress thru the Ojuelegba service lanes,” LASTMA tweeted.
“Men of the Nigerian Police Force are already on ground as mechanism for evacuation has arrived.”
IKEJA UNDERBRIDGE INCIDENT
The second incident happened near the General Hospital at Ikeja Underbridge.
LASTMA noted that the container fell in the early hours of Friday and needed to be offloaded before recovery could be done.
“#RoadIncident. A fallen 40-foot container-laden truck fell at General Hospital under bridge Ikeja. It needs to be offloaded before recovery is done. Personnel fully on the ground managing traffic accordingly,” the agency wrote on Twitter.
KETU BUS STOP INCIDENT
The third incident occurred at Ketu bus stop on Friday morning.
Eyewitnesses reported that a container fell off a rickety articulated truck, hitting the side of a long passenger bus going to Ikorodu.
No casualty was recorded.
MILE 12 INCIDENT
On Friday afternoon, LASTMA tweeted that another container had fallen along the Mile 12 area of Ikorodu road, disclosing that there was no access through the service lane.
The agency also noted that recovery efforts were ongoing, adding that officials were already on the ground.
“A fallen 40ft container at Demurin junction inwards Ile Ile/Mile 12, there is no access through the service lane presently,” it tweeted.
“Effort is on for recovery while our officers are on scene managing the situation effectively. No casualties recorded.”
AGO-PALACE INCIDENT
On Friday evening, LASTMA disclosed that another 40-foot container had fallen at the Ago-Palace Way area of the state.
This incident made it the fifth on Friday of containers falling in different parts of Lagos.
In a statement, LASTMA’s Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment, Adebayo Taofiq, said the latest incident occurred as a result of brake failure on the part of the trailer.
He also noted that the container crushed an SUV from the rear.
However, no life was lost in the accident, according to the LASTMA spokesman.
The General Manager, LASTMA, Bolaji Oreagba, also confirmed that the agency recorded five incidents on Friday.
“Today alone, the agency recorded five different container truck accidents at Ketu inward Mile 12, Ojuelegba Bridge inward stadium, under the bridge by LASUTH, Ago Palace Road and Oke-Afa bridge inward Jakande,” he said.
The five incidents continue a worrying trend of containers calling dangerously on roads.
Recall that in February, two containers fell off the back of a trailer on the Mile 12 bridge outbound Ikorodu, grounding traffic in the area.
Also, in January 2023, two containers fell of the Ojuelegba bridge also in Lagos.
In one of the incidents, the container crushed nine occupants of a commercial bus to death.
After the deadly accident, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu directed the Lagos Ministry of Transportation and Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) to meet urgently to find a lasting solution to the menace of falling trucks.
He also directed the enforcement of the laws governing the operations of trucks.
“All the laws governing the operations of trucks and related vehicles must be enforced with more vigour and diligence,” Sanwo-Olu said at the time.
FURTHER READING
However, the menace has persisted as Friday’s galore of falling containers show.
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