Passengers escape death as BRT bus catches fire in Lagos

Passengers in a BRT bus escaped death on Saturday morning when the vehicle caught fire in the Maryland area of Lagos state. 

An eyewitness said the vehicle departed from Ikorodu en route to the CMS area of the state when the sad incident occurred.

The driver and conductor of the BRT bus reportedly fled the scene. 

Emergency responders, including officers of the Nigeria Police Force, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), fire services, and local security personnel, arrived at the scene to contain the fire.

According to a passenger, the fire started as smoke from the driver’s side, and the passengers initially thought the smoke had emanated from other buses. 

“However, the slight smoke soon worsened, immediately sending us into panic mode,” she said.

“As soon as we saw that the smoke grew bigger, we rushed off the bus before the fire started.”

She said some of the passengers sustained injuries.

“The driver and the conductor ran away. They didn’t even wait to see what would happen to us,” she said.

“Definitely, they knew what happened. They knew the bus was bad before putting it on the road and risking our lives.