Lagosians blame govt as gas explosion kills six, destroys 41 buildings

Landlords and residents on Cardoso Road, Baruwa, in the Ipaja area of Lagos State, have been thrown into mourning after a wave of gas explosions rocked the community, killing six people.

PUNCH Metro learnt that among the dead were a landlady, a woman and her two sons, and a security guard.

Eight others, who sustained varying degrees of injury, were rushed to the Trauma and Burns Centre, Gbagada General Hospital, Gbagada. One of them later passed away.

No fewer than 25 houses and 16 shops were destroyed by the explosions, which started around 5am on Thursday.

Other facilities affected were a private primary school, an events centre and a church, while three vehicles were also burnt.

When our correspondent visited the area, the atmosphere was still suffused with gas, as some burning buildings smouldered.

A few cursed the owner of Best Roof Gas Station, the gas plant, where the fire started from.

Punch correspondent learnt that a 30-metric-tonne LPG tanker was discharging gas into the underground tank around 4am when the pipe leaked.

A generator used to power the premises was said to have ignited the fire.

A worker at the plant, Ibikunle Israel, said a tanker had earlier discharged without any incident.

He explained that after workers closed for work around 7pm, the second gas tanker came in.

We don’t know whether the driver and the motor boy tried to do it themselves. But that was how the gas pipe leaked,” he added.

The Chairman of the Community Development Association, Fagbemigun Samuel, recalled that at the initial stage, the area was filled with gas.

He said, “Someone came to bang on my door, saying I should come out because of a gas leakage. I came out and saw that the whole street was white as if there was a harmattan. Some residents put disused tyres on the road to stop vehicles from moving and igniting the fire.

“I went back inside to put on my trousers; but by the time I came out, there was fire already. People were in panic. I took my wife to escape. When I returned, the whole street was in flames with nowhere to go again.”

A resident, Rasheed Oresanwo, said the gas filled the community for about 30 minutes before the explosion started.

He claimed to have saved some women and children by taking them over the fence.

The state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, while sympathising with the families of the victims, condemned the gas plant operator for violating the law.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in a statement, expressed sadness over the explosion.

He said preliminary and final reports on the cause of the explosion suggested negligence on the part of the gas plant operator, adding that the government would take stiffer measures against operators of gas plants and combustible items in the state.

The Director of Clinical Services and Training, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Dr Ibrahim Mustapha, told PUNCH Metro that one of the three critically injured victims taken to the Gbagada General Hospital had passed away.