Gas Explosion Leaves Four Dead in Lagos

• The fire ignited as a result of a call being made by an unidentified resident.
• There are conflicting figures about number of casualties.

Four persons have been killed in a gas explosion that occurred early Thursday morning at Aduke Street, Ifelodun Local Council Development Area of Lagos state.

While two kids were among the deceased, it was gathered that about 50 persons got injured during the incident.

Confirming the incident, the Director-General of Lagos Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, however, said 23 were injured.

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According to Oke-Osanyintolu, those who suffered burns have been evacuated to the Burn Unit, Gbagada General Hospital.

“Further investigations revealed that the fire ignited as a result of a call being made by an unidentified resident which escalated to other nearby shops and a bungalow behind the shops.

“Unfortunately, two children (male and female) lost their lives and multiple burn casualties were recorded; a total of 23 in number.

“The second body met at the scene was identified as Damilare Afolabi and the remains were bagged by the LASEMA Response Team (LRT) and handed over to the family.”

He added that the entire area has been cordoned and post-disaster assessment is ongoing.

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“As a result of visible cracks and intensity of the fire, it is advised that a controlled demolition should be carried out on the burnt structure in order to prevent any secondary incident. Operation ongoing,” he said.