Cement truck crushes 6 to death in Lagos after coronavirus lockdown

Only one passenger survived after the truck fell on a fully-loaded taxi.

A Dangote Cement silo truck has crushed six people to death in Lagos State, according to authorities.

In a statement on Wednesday, April 1, 2020, the director-general of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the truck was involved in an accident on Epe expressway on Tuesday, March 31.

The truck, with unknown registration number, fell on a loaded commercial taxi with registration number SMK-312ES.

"Investigations revealed that a total of seven people were in the crushed car with 6 of them having lost their lives on or shortly after impact," he said.

The lone survivor, identified as Lekan, has been rescued alive.

Director-General of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu [Sun News Online]

The accident happened after Lagos already commenced a shutdown of activities to enforce social isolation in the bid to contain the spread of coronavirus in the state.

Oke-Osanyitolu called on Lagosians to comply with the government's social distancing guidelines to avoid endangering themselves as well as the rescue workers.

With 82 confirmed coronavirus cases, Lagos has recorded over half of Nigeria's total tally of 139, as of March 31.