Five people have confirmed dead in the gas tanker explosion that occurred on Thursday night along Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Lagos.
Three of the bodies were found inside one of the stores at the OPIC plaza by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) around 7am on Friday.
The bodies were found while rescue team was searching for a child whose mother was rescued early Friday morning.
The woman, who was at the Chinese Restaurant, reportedly kept crying about her child when she was being evacuated to the hospital.
The officials who went from one room to the other in search of the kid reportedly discovered three bodies of men who got trapped by the fire.
The other two, including a child, were discovered by a vulcaniser who led FRSC officials on traffic control duty to the spot.
At least 13 other persons were injured after the gas tanker explosion which occurred at 10.30pm resulted in the destruction of 25 cars.
Four of the injured victims with severe burns who could not be attended to at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital were moved to the Trauma and Burns Centre of the Gbagada General Hospital.
Director General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed that five bodies had been recovered and 13 injured persons evacuated to the hospital.
He said the agency responded to a distress call shortly before midnight on Thursday concerning a tanker explosion which extended to the OPIC Plaza and damaged 22 parked vehicles within the premises.
“First responders worked to control the spread to the adjacent properties as well as the nearby petrol station until 0400hrs Friday.
“Thirteen people with various degrees of burns were rescued comprising nine males and four females. They were provided with pre hospital care before taken to Lagos State health facilities for further treatment
“The affected truck has been moved, the entire affected area cordoned off and post disaster assessment ongoing.”
Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, Acting Zonal Coordinator, South West Zonal Office, National Emergency Management Agency, confirmed the development in Ikeja on Friday.
He said the explosion threw the environment into panic due to the huge fire caused by the incident.
He said the explosion was reportedly caused by leakage from the gas tanker while in motion.
“The resulting fire travelled with the wind to the premises of Ogun State Property Investment Company (OPIC) Plaza besides Sheraton Hotels, which houses different commercial outfits including a Chinese Restaurant.
“The fire was put out at about 12.30am, after concerted efforts of five fire trucks from the Lagos State Fire Service and two trucks from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency Response Unit.
“The initial search and rescue activities revealed that 13 persons sustained various degrees of burns. Out of this, nine are males while four are females.”
According to him, the affected victims were attended to at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for First Aid.
Farinoye also confirmed that four victims with severe injuries were quickly moved to the Gbagada General Hospital, Lagos.
He “Preliminary assessment of vehicles damaged indicated that about 25 were destroyed as at now.
“Comprehensive post disaster assessment on the extent of general damages would be done later today.”
According to him, Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Mr Hakeem Odumosu, led the team that took charge of crowd control and helped to restore normalcy.