The fire triggered by the gas pipeline explosion on Sunday in Abule Ado, a suburb of Lagos, has finally been put out on Monday morning, a day after.
The Fire Service was among the government agencies that rushed to the scene of the accident yesterday, and by this morning its efforts, with the assistance of other agencies, succeeded in putting off the fire.
An official of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency said on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily on Monday that the agency was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the explosion and its effects.
LASEMA has confirmed that 17 people died, while 25 were injured in the explosion.
When BusinessDay visited the scene Monday, the road leading to the scene had been cordoned off by security agents. There is neither entry nor exit for motorists and pedestrians. This has left people on their way to work ad students stranded.
Only one caterpillar is at the place now, trying to excavate the debris right inside Bethlehem College, which was destroyed by the explosion.
The explosion, which was heard at a far-flung area as Surulere around 8.30 am on Sunday, sent tick, dark plumes of smoke and fire into the air. It brought down buildings, including a girls’ secondary school where the hostel collapsed on the young students. Their bloodied bodies were pulled out from the rubble by rescuers.
