Two found dead in underground fuel tank

Two men have been reported to have suffocated while cleaning the inside of an underground petrol tank at Fatgbems filling station at the Berger bus stop area of Lagos on Friday.

The victims, Adekunle Ipaye and a young man identified only as United, were reportedly contracted to remove fuel sediments in the tank early in the morning to avoid the heat that accumulates underground at sunrise.

There was panic at the station around early in the morning when United, who initially went into the tank, suffocated. Ipaye had apparently gone in to help him when he suffocated also.

Lagos state emergency officials who were called to the scene, went into the tank and found them stone dead.

Mr. Kehinde Adebayo, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency said the bodies of the victims were removed and deposited at the Lagos Mainland Hospital Mortuary.

Policemen from Ojodu Police command who were invited to the scene arrested the contractors at the station.

The LASEMA General Manager, Mr. Michael Akindele, said the bodies were evacuated by the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit.

Akindele said proper investigation would be conducted to ascertain what led to the incident and warned artisans to adhere to safety precautions while carrying out underground cleaning and other duties.

A statement from the Director of the Lagos State Fire Service urged the public to seek the agency’s technical support before carrying out maintenance and construction work, especially in anything that has to do with underground compartments.

He said, “The deceased did not wear safety gadgets before embarking on the maintenance. In a task like this, we should be contacted for support. We will always provide the necessary technical assistance.
Mr. Michael Akindele said, adding that death of this nature is becoming rampant and needs to be avoided.”

In a statement by the company’s Corporate Planning Manager, Adeyinka Adeyemo, explained that the company is cooperating with the police and all other agencies in their investigation.