Principal,family of four, others die in explosion

No fewer than fifteen persons have been confirmed dead, including a family of four, while some were rescued alive and others trapped in the collapsed buildings, in the Lagos State gas explosion.

Mr Farinloye, the NEMA coordinator, said 15 bodies were recovered, including a family of 4 who were heading to church before they were caught in the explosion.

Many plausible reasons have been given for the explosion and the resultant fire.

While some residents claimed it could have been caused by a bomb, two government agencies, NEMA and the Lagos Fire Service earlier said it was an “implosion” and not an explosion.

“The implosion is not connected to pipeline but might have occurred in a factory located in the Abule Ado area,” the agencies said.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) also could not state the actual cause of the explosion.

However, the Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, on Sunday evening said the fire incident happened when a truck hit some gas cylinders stacked in a gas processing plant located near an NNPC pipeline.

“NNPC pipeline right of way (ROW) encroachment by gas handling vendors and construction of houses enabled the explosion and aggravated the impact. Working with LASG and security agencies to clear the ROW,” Mr Kyari said in a tweet.

The NNPC later released a statement, saying the incident 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.

As soon as the incident occurred, the corporation said it quickly halted ongoing pumping operations on the Atlas Cove-Mosimi pipeline which was active at the time.

It said its actions would not affect fuel supply to any part of Nigeria.

The statement added that more fire firefighting personnel and equipment were mobillised from the NNPC Mosimi Area Office to provide extra fillip to the ongoing operation.

Bethlehem Girls College, a Catholic school close to the scene of the explosion , also suffered a huge loss as the principal of the school and a number of students died, while many were rescued and taken for treatment.