The inferno, which occurred in the Badmus area, opposite Agbala Daniel Church, on Ojoo-Iwo-Road, in the Akinyele Local Government Area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Saturday, killed a 30-year-old welder, identified as Alabi Quadri, while four others were hospitalised as a result of varying degrees of injury sustained.
News360 Info learned that the fire incident was said to have been caused by a gas explosion, and it also burnt down about six trailers.
An eyewitness told PUNCH that Quadri died in the early hours of Sunday at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, where he was rushed to, while four others with serious injuries are currently at UCH, Oyo Mesi Specialist Hospital, Orogun, and Hamdalat Hospital, Ojoo, all within the Ibadan metropolis.
In an interview with the aforementioned publication, one of the affected mechanics, Segun Ajiboye, confirmed six trailers were affected, three of which belonged to his customers.
He said, “Two people, Quadri and Joshua Kayode were rushed to the UCH while Ibrahim Rasheed and Saheed Rasheed (brothers) were rushed to the Oyo Mesi Specialist Hospital at Orogun, during the fire incident. Another person, Owoseni Ajala, was rushed to Hamdalat Hospital, Ojoo. All of them are responding to the treatment except Quadri who gave up the ghost this morning (Sunday).
I am a trailer mechanic. I do convert trailers’ steering from right to left. We called it ‘righty.’ The fire occurred at our workshop in the Badmus area. No shop was burnt down. It affected six trailers (DAF). There was one trailer we had already finished, and the owner promised to come around today (Sunday) to pick it up, it was also affected.
I was not in the shop when the incident happened. I went to the Automated Teller Machine at Ojoo to get some cash when I received a call that fire had gutted some trailers in our shop. I quickly rushed back and before I could get there, about six vehicles had already been affected. Three were burnt down in my stand.
We are many in that garage. We have a welder, panel beater, tuner, and many others. According to what they told me when I returned from the ATM gallery, the fire started about three cars to my own stand (shop). The late Quadri was using a generating set to work on a vehicle because there was no light, so he used it to power his machine. There was another person next to him using oxygen and gas but unknown to them, the pipe of that oxygen had burst somewhere. So, it catches fire suddenly.”
