Panic As Tanker Explosion Rocks Lagos, Destroys Shops, Goods

There was pandemonium as a yet-to-be-ascertained number of shops with goods were destroyed in a fire that occurred late last night when a gas tanker caught fire along the Agbado Road in the Toyin area of Ifako Ijaiye Local Government Area of Lagos State.

The Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, confirmed this to the media.

According to Adeseye, the impact of the fire left some shops destroyed while the operatives of the state fire service were able to curtail its spread.

She said, “The fire which was reported at 22:04hrs yesterday as a result of a gas tanker that accidentally caught fire and accompanied by an explosion, has been confined to the tanker and the adjoining row of shops it spread to as concerted efforts are ongoing to forestall further spread to protect the environment and property including the nearby Kerozone Petroleum Filling Station.”

Reacting, the Lagos State Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Authority, Ibrahim Farinloye, further disclosed that the tanker had a collision with an electric pole while trying to enter the premises of where it was to offload its content leading to a cable snapping that resulted to the explosion.

He disclosed further that the intervention of the emergency responders including the Lagos State Fire Services and NEMA brought the fire under control without casualties.

Farinloye said, “There was a fire incident. It started when a tanker that was about to offload its content in a filling station along the road collided with an electric pole. The impact of the collision led to a cable falling on the container and therefore resulted in a spark.

“Emergency responders were able to contain the spread of the fire to avoid casualties. No lives were lost but some shops were destroyed.”

It was earlier reported on Monday that several persons escaped death the previous day’s night when a fire gutted some makeshift structures in the Ikate-Elegushi area of Lekki in Lagos State.

The fire affected the makeshift structures around the vicinity of Star Road, by Horizon Heights, Ikate-Elegushi, Lekki Lagos.

Adeseye confirmed the incident in a statement on Monday.

She said the incident involved residential makeshift structures, encompassing approximately an acre of land.

(c) Punch Newspapers.