A Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicle conveying 45 persons on Monday burst into flames near Anthony Bus Stop, Ikorodu Road, Lagos, causing panic among road users.
NEMA acting Zonal Coordinator, South-West, Ibrahim Farinloye, confirmed the development in a statement. Mr. Farinloye said the bus was enroute TBS Terminal, Lagos Island, when the incident occurred about 11 a.m.
According to him, the bus involved in the incident was drafted to assist in conveying the passengers after the one which took off from Ikorodu terminal broke down.
He said all the passengers were rescued unhurt by officials of the emergency response agencies. Farinloye said the agencies included NEMA, the police disaster management unit and the fire service.
However, the Primero Transport Services Ltd., operators of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Lagos State, said that no passenger sustained any form of injury when one of its buses got burnt in a fire on Monday.
The Spokesman for the firm, Mr Mutiu Yekeen, made the remarks in Lagos.
Yekeen, who expressed regrets over the incident which occured at Idiroko bus stop along Ikorodu Road, said the firm was still investigating the cause of the fire that engulfed the fully-loaded passenger bus.
“A BRT bus was involved in an isolated fire incident at Idiroko inwards Maryland this morning. We can confirm that there were no injuries sustained by passengers.
“All passengers came down safely when the fire was detected. The driver applied his fire extinguisher but the fire had gone out of control.
“We are currently investigating the cause of the fire within the organisation.
“Operations continue across various bus shelters as we ensure the highest safety measures are implemented,”the spokesman said.
According to him, those carrying conflict reports about the incident should desist, as no casualty was recorded.
“We want to use this medium to assure our teeming commuters that we prioritise safety and doing everything to guarantee this.
‘We thank God no injury was recorded by any passenger, there was no casualty at all. We regret the incident, it was an unforeseen situation,”he added.
He said that the firm would continue to do it’s best on the safety of commuters and staff of the company.
