At least three staff of Four Points, by Sheraton Hotel Oniru, on Victoria Island, Lagos were left critically wounded by a gas explosion that occurred around 1pm on Wednesday as they drilled a borehole.
“They were drilling a borehole and perhaps ran into a gas line which caused the explosion,” a staff of the hotel simply identified as Emmanuel told BusinessDay at the site in a hurry, while trying to reach out for help.
The incident caused pandemonium around the vicinity of the hotel with many people suspecting a bomb explosion had occurred.
At least eight exotic cars parked within and outside the premises of Four Points Hotel had their windscreens shattered, while pedestrians were thrown towards each other or other objects. There were multiple car collisions as the explosion thrust them onto each other on the road.
The explosion came barely a week after a gas explosion killed four persons and left some 23 others injured in the Ajegunle area of Apapa, Lagos.
BusinessDay saw in-house Doctors at the hotel giving First Aid treatment to the victims of the accident.
The gas explosion came as a shock to residents of the hotel who were earlier informed by the hotel management of a planned fire drill by 3pm.
Oluwafemi Oke-Osanyintolu, managing director of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) said multiple vehicles had been damaged by the explosion.
Oke-Osanyintolu said his team found out at the scene of the incident that a gas cylinder was said to have exploded within the vicinity of the hotel.
“Further investigation revealed that the gas cylinder used by welders working in the yard of the hotel premises exploded due to a leakage of one of the gas cylinder hose,” he said.
“A total of three people sustained severe injuries as a result of the blast and two have been rushed to Lagos Island General Hospital for intensive care by LASEMA Ambulance Unit, while one was rushed to a nearby private hospital,” said Oke-Osayintolu.
He further confirmed the damage of several cars and shattering of hotel room windows which resulted in debris flying around the hotel premises.
The LASEMA boss, however, said the situation was under control as combined team of the agency, Nigeria Police alongside staff of the hotel was on ground to ensure a recovery operation which was ongoing at the time of this report.
