No fewer than 17 persons have been confirmed dead and 25 others injured after a gas explosion rocked the Abule-Ado area, near the International Trade Fair Complex, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State on Sunday.
More than 50 buildings in the area were impacted by the explosion, as hundreds of residents were rendered homeless.
Several vehicles parked in the area were also destroyed by the explosion.
Boarding pupils of the Bethlehem Girls College were trapped in the wreckage of their hostel, as residents and sympathisers pulled them out of the rubble.
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FEATURED
Principal, 16 others killed, 50 houses razed in Lagos gas plant explosion
Published March 16, 2020
Our correspondents
No fewer than 17 persons have been confirmed dead and 25 others injured after a gas explosion rocked the Abule-Ado area, near the International Trade Fair Complex, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State on Sunday.
More than 50 buildings in the area were impacted by the explosion, as hundreds of residents were rendered homeless.
Several vehicles parked in the area were also destroyed by the explosion.
Boarding pupils of the Bethlehem Girls College were trapped in the wreckage of their hostel, as residents and sympathisers pulled them out of the rubble.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the Principal of the college, Rev. Sr. Henritta Alokha, lost her life while attempting to rescue the pupils.
Our correspondents were told that the explosion occurred around 9am after a truck hit some gas cylinders in a gas processing plant.
The gas plant was located near the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s System 2B pipeline’s right of way.
A witness, who identified himself simply as Chibuzor, said his neighbour, who was just delivered of a baby, was trapped after her residence caved in.
12′
FEATURED
Principal, 16 others killed, 50 houses razed in Lagos gas plant explosion
Published March 16, 2020
Our correspondents
No fewer than 17 persons have been confirmed dead and 25 others injured after a gas explosion rocked the Abule-Ado area, near the International Trade Fair Complex, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State on Sunday.
More than 50 buildings in the area were impacted by the explosion, as hundreds of residents were rendered homeless.
Several vehicles parked in the area were also destroyed by the explosion.
Boarding pupils of the Bethlehem Girls College were trapped in the wreckage of their hostel, as residents and sympathisers pulled them out of the rubble.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the Principal of the college, Rev. Sr. Henritta Alokha, lost her life while attempting to rescue the pupils.
Our correspondents were told that the explosion occurred around 9am after a truck hit some gas cylinders in a gas processing plant.
The gas plant was located near the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s System 2B pipeline’s right of way.
A witness, who identified himself simply as Chibuzor, said his neighbour, who was just delivered of a baby, was trapped after her residence caved in.
He said, “We were in the church when it happened. At first, we thought it was a tanker explosion and we ran out of the church to see what had happened. But on getting out, we saw fire raging.
“My brother’s house was affected and a woman, who just gave birth, was in the house. We cannot hear her voice and she is not picking her calls.
“Immediately the explosion happened, the chapel of the school, where the children were gathered for morning mass, collapsed. Some were trapped underneath the rubble, while some have been rescued and rushed to hospital.”
It felt like it exploded on the church premises. All the windows were shattered and worshippers ran for their lives. It was my first day in church after over four years,” he said.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency said 17 people were confirmed dead, adding that 25 were injured.
It felt like it exploded on the church premises. All the windows were shattered and worshippers ran for their lives. It was my first day in church after over four years,” he said.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency said 17 people were confirmed dead, adding that 25 were injured.
The NNPC said it had already mobilised its in-house team, consisting of health safety environment experts, medical and security personnel from its nearby Satellite Town depot in Lagos, adding that the Lagos State Fire Service was mobilised to extinguish the fire.
The corporation said more firefighting personnel and equipment were mobilised from the NNPC Mosimi area office to the scene.
It urged members of the public and residents of the affected communities to remain calm, adding that the temporary shutdown of the petroleum products pipeline would not affect the normal supply of products to Lagos and its environs.
Sanwo-Olu, in a statement, said the protective equipment would prevent any form of medical hazards, such as respiratory infections, by the residents who might unknowingly inhale toxic substances from the explosion.
maintain a safe distance and avoid breathing in polluted air.
The governors of Ekiti and Ondo, Kayode Fayemi and Rotimi Akeredolu, respectively, commiserated with their Lagos State counterpart and the families of the victims as well as residents and business owners, who lost property to the fire incident that followed the explosion.
In separate statements, the governors regretted the huge losses recorded in the incident and urged those who lost their relatives and property not to lose hope in the face of the disaster.
Source; punch
