No fewer than 50 persons were injured and several cars and property destroyed following a gas tanker explosion on Thursday at Balogun Bus Stop in Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area of Lagos State.
The Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar Farouk
Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, Acting Zonal Coordinator, South West Zonal Office,
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), confirmed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
NAN reports that the incident occurred barely 24 hours after a petroleum tanker exploded and killed over 20 persons at Felele, in Kogi.
Farinloye said the Lagos incident occurred at 3.05p.m. when the gas tanker, which was trying to enter Cerato Gas Plant located in the area, suddenly went up in flames.
He said: “16 vehicles, two tricycles, two gas tankers, an event centre and one church building was destroyed.
“Also damaged were; a block industry and an attached office, a cement store and a sawmill and several stores where building materials are being sold.
“The people injured were immediately taken to the Water Works Clinic. 15 people were admitted there.
“Two that were critically injured have been referred to the General Hospital. Three are presently on admission and are being observed.
“The remaining 10 had minor injuries and have been discharged.”
Farinloye said NEMA promptly alerted other emergency responders including the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency , Lagos State Fire Service , the Police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps
“The response was swift and the fire has been extinguished. Some of the injured persons told us that they immediately jumped into a nearby canal which was filled with water as it rained today.
“That is one of the major reasons that there was no fatality,”he said.
Also, Hondurable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs,Sadiya farouq has expressed deep sadness over the explosion of the gas tanker in Lagos, which has recorded over 50 persons injured and several buildings and vehicles razed by the inferno.
In a press statement by the Special Assistant to the Minister, Mrs Nneka Ikem Anibeze, she sympathized with the injured and those who lost their homes to the inferno.
“I am deeply saddened by this tragic incident especially as this is coming just six months after the explosion in Abule Ado in March.
“The federal government sympathizes with the affected families and persons and has directed the immediate despatch of rescue operations by the National Emergency Management Agency (Neman) with combined assistance from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) to evacuate the injured to hospitals and provide immediate relief for displaced persons.
“Our prayers are with the government and the good people of Lagos state at this time of grief”, Farouq said.
Meanwhile the Director General of the Lagos State Emergency Agency, LASEMA Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu has confirmed the incident.
He said victims trapped in the explosion have been evacuated while the injured have been taken to the hospital for immediate attention as rescue workers fought to put out the inferno.
Some of the buildings affected by the explosion include the Muslak Gas Plant and an events centre.
