June 18, (THEWILL)- The death toll in Thursday night’s gas explosion on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, in the Maryland area of Lagos State, has risen to five.
THEWILL had earlier reported three deaths, 13 injured and 25 vehicles razed in the LPG gas tanker explosion that spread to the OPIC Plaza on Thursday night, at Ikeja, in Lagos.
Lagos State Commissioner for Special Duties, Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, disclosed this while addressing reporters at the scene of the incident on Friday.
He said three victims died at the scene while two more died at the hospital.
“Lives were lost. We had about 13 people rescued but we understand that out of the 13 people, we’ve lost two of them, which means that we’ve only rescued 11. We’ve recovered three bodies again this morning. They’ve started moving them away from here,” he said.
The Commissioner said investigation was already ongoing, adding that a special committee by the state government, with agencies of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as members, was working to end gas explosions in the state.
On his part, the Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Lanre Majola, also hinted that investigation was already ongoing on the actual cause of the explosion.
Majola said: “Our investigation is going on. At the end of the day, we will publish our report, and if we find out that anyone is liable, we will prosecute the person. We believe that bad practices cannot just continue in this country.
“Just to reiterate, we will complete our investigation, make it public and if we find out that there is any form of negligence by any means or firm or shape, we will certainly ensure that the law takes its course.”
He said the government recently held a meeting with stakeholders where the need to have very strict standards, especially with handling of gas, was emphasised.
Majola said the incident could have been avoided if the prerequisite safety standards were followed by the truck conveying the LPG.
He said: “We have been told that the truck spilled its content. Ideally, every truck should have two safety valves.
“In the event that there is an external force, it will keep the content protected. Even if there is a little bit of escape, it won’t cause as much damage.”
