A gas tanker exploded on Thursday in the Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos with about 50 persons sustaining burn injuries and scores of buildings and cars destroyed.
This was confirmed by the Director-General of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Olufemi Damilola. He said efforts are being made to put out the explosion.
The gas tanker explosion took place at about 3:30 pm yesterday evening. ‘A further investigation revealed that an unknown truck conveying gasoline had an accident and exploded,’ The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) said in a statement.
‘The impact of the explosion led to a fire at adjoining buildings, and several vehicles were burnt… Several people were injured and have been taken to the nearest hospital for treatment,’ it added.
The explosion occurred while the truck was attempting to enter a gas plant in the area, Ibrahim Farinloye, an official at LASEMA, was quoted as saying.
It was reported that the tanker was supposed to offload its content at a gas station, but the station’s owner reportedly refused to allow him because a seal had been broken, indicating that the content had been tampered with. Enraged by the refusal of the station manager to offload the content in his tanker, the driver moved out of the premises.
A few meters away from the gas station, the front tire of the tanker burst, and the gearbox struck the ground causing a spark that led to an explosion when it came in contact with gas that was leaking from the tanker. The vehicle ended in a ditch, where a second explosion erupted. The second explosion sent the tanker flying and destroying buildings in its path, including a church. The impact of the explosion spread about 300 radii from the scene of the incident, the LASEMA official said.