Container falls off Ojuelegba Bridge in Lagos

A container has fallen off the Ojuelegba Bridge, Lagos State, causing a traffic gridlock around the area.

The container fell off a truck which was travelling on the bridge on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, according to a security operative that spoke to TheCable.

"The load is too much for the body, so as it was climbing the bridge, it was rolling down. It is 40 feet tall," he said.

The truck driver, who also spoke to TheCable, said the accident was as a result of a bus driver who overtook him.

He said, "As I was climbing the bridge, a bus overtook me and I had to stop. When I set out after the bus left, the gear dragged me back and the container turned and fell. It is not because of the brake."

A police officer at the scene of the accident reported that no casualties were recorded.

The Ojuelegba Bridge has been notorious for similar accidents. Three people were killed in June 2018 when a container load of plywood fell off a truck and crushed three commercial buses and a Toyota Corolla Camry.

Three people also died in 2016 when a 40-feet container disengaged from an articulated vehicle and fell on vehicles under the bridge.

As recently as last month, a container-laden truck on Friday rolled back on Barracks-Ojuelegba Bridge in Lagos and damaged seven cars. No life was lost.