- NNPC Says Fire Triggered by Gas Explosion
- Rallies Fire Fighters to Extinguish Inferno
- Corporation GMD Heads to Lagos to Assess Damage
Admin l Sunday, March 15, 2020
LAGOS, Nigeria – Not less than 15 people were early today burnt to death when an explosion hit Abule Ado, very close to Mile 2, Lagos. The impact of the explosion which hit the area was also felt several miles away shattering buildings in nearby Festac Town.
PM News reported that about 70 buildings were affected in the explosion whose cause is yet to be determined. But our correspondent reported that a military barracks is situated at on the axis few metres away from the scene of the explosion.
NEMA’s Southwest spokesman, Ibrahim Farinloye who spoke on the incident said several people were also injured in the incident and that over 50 houses were destroyed by the Abule Ado explosion.
“The headquarters of the Lagos Province 3 of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) located on 24 Road, Festac Town, Lagos was burnt along with over 70 buildings. A parish of the First Baptist Church near the RCCG parish also lost a part of its roof to the explosion.
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“The roof of a parish of the Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) located at 7th Avenue, Festac Town, was also blown off by the explosion which equally shattered the roof of the Ark Parish of the RCCG at 1st Avenue, many kilometers away from the explosion scene.
“The Bethel Secondary School, a boarding school owned by the Catholic Church in Abule Ado, was brought down by the explosion, with many of its students injured and some feared dead.
“Many other buildings very far from the explosion scene in Abule Ado, Festac Extension in Amuwo Odofin LGA, were also brought down while many others shook during the explosion that threw thousands of residents in panic and confusion.
“The Odic Plaza, a motor parts mall and warehouse, Bush Bar Hotel, Green Horse Plaza which houses tyres, Arch Angel Catholic Church, Chino Plaza with many goods in it, and a mechanic village, all located inside the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, were all hit by the explosion”, PM News reported.
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Reacting to the incident, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Sunday said that the reported explosion which rocked Abule Ado Area of Lagos State in the early hours of the day was as a result of gas explosion which 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.
In a press release signed by NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, the corporation explained that preliminary findings indicated that the impact of the explosion was so huge that it led to the collapse of nearby houses and damage to NNPC pipeline on which efforts are being made to curtail the resultant fire.
The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari and other top Management of the corporation departed to Lagos this evening for an on-the-spot assessment at the scene of the incident.
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Obateru stated that following the report of the explosion, the corporation quickly halted ongoing pumping operations on the Atlas Cove-Mosimi pipeline which was active at the time.
The release explained that NNPC had already mobilized its in-house combined team consisting of Health Safety Environment experts, Medical and Security personnel from its nearby Satellite Depot in Lagos, even as Lagos State Fire Service was also rallied to extinguish the fire.
The release said more fire firefighting personnel and equipment were mobillised from the NNPC Mosimi Area Office to provide extra fillip to the ongoing operation.
While assuring members of the public and residents of the affected communities to remain calm, the NNPC’s spokesman assured that the temporary shutdown of the petroleum products pipeline would not affect the normal supply of products to the Lagos and its environs.
He said the fire, currently burring at controlled condition, was being fought headlong, saying a detail assessment of the incident was underway to establish the extent of damage to the pipeline.
The NNPC Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kyari, commiserated with the victims of the incident, praying that God provides them succor at this hour.
