Headlines
15 people die in Lagos explosion
- NNPC says disaster caused by gas cylinder explosion as a result of trailer accident
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says 15 corpses, including a family of four, have been recovered from the scene of Sunday’s explosion which occurred at Abule Ado, Trade Fair axis of Lagos State.
No fewer than 60 students of Bethlehem Girls College located within the area, who sustained various degrees of injury in the incident were also taken to the Nigerian Navy Hospital in Ojo Cantonment.
Acting Coordinator of NEMA in Lagos, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that “a couple and their two sons were caught by the explosion on their way to church around about 9am on Sunday.”
A scene of the Abule Ado explosion and fire disaster on Sunday
Farinloye said over 50 buildings, including Bethlehem Girls College and a popular hotel, were damaged in the explosion.
He said, “The resulting fire later spread to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation oil pipeline passing through the area even though the pipeline had been shut down as a precautionary measure.
READ: Death toll from Ijegun pipeline fire in Lagos rises to 12
“The fire was eventually extinguished about 3.30 p.m. through the combined efforts of officials of the Lagos State Fire Service, Federal Fire Service, and Nigerian Navy Fire Tender.”
One of the victims of the incident, Mr Abayomi Abeyi, said his building was severely damaged while his wife sustained injuries from the explosion.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that the fire was as a result of gas explosion.
It said the gas explosion occurred after a truck hit some gas cylinders stacked in a gas processing plant located near the corporation’s system 2B Pipeline Right of Way.
In a statement by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, the corporation explained that preliminary findings indicated that the impact of the explosion was so huge that it led to the collapse of nearby houses and damage to NNPC pipeline, thereby further fuelling the inferno.