The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has revealed the cause of the Thursday night gas tanker explosion that occurred around the Ogun State Property Investment Corporation (OPIC) Plaza on Mobolaji Bank-Anthony Way, Ikeja, Lagos.
The state emergency agency said that the fire that trailed the leakage from a moving cooking gas truck came from the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant that is located at the OPIC Plaza where other offices were equally burnt.
This disclosure was made by the Director-General of LASEMA, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, in Lagos on Saturday while reading a preliminary report on its investigation of the incident.
This is as the death toll from the inferno was said to have risen to 5 with 13 other casualties and 25 burnt vehicles.
What the Director-General of LASEMA is saying
Osanyintolu in his statement said, “Close investigation revealed that the leaking cooking gas from the truck was ignited by the exposed fire from the kitchen of the New Chinese restaurant inside OPIC Plaza. As a result of wind action, the whole area of OPIC Structure was engulfed with fire. The fire trailed the cooking gas resulting in the combustion of the gas tanker outside the compound.’’
Oke-Osanyintolu added that the inferno from the explosion resulted in several damages to the OPIC Plaza building structure.
He said that LASEMA’s Tiger Team received a distress call at about 10.57 p.m. on Thursday and immediately swung into action with its private-sector technical partner.
He said, “On arrival at the scene of the incident, it was discovered that a 13.5-ton gas tanker in motion was leaking its content.’’
Oke-Osanyintolu said the fire resulted in 13 burns casualties at the scene who were given first aid by LASEMA before they were taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and Gbagada General Hospital for further treatment.
Going further, the LASEMA boss stated, “Unfortunately, three adult males were further discovered dead at the scene and their bodies were bagged and transported to the morgue. Also, two victims died while undergoing medical attention at LASUTH, hence a total of five fatalities were recorded as at the time this report was put together.’’
He added that LASEMA and other responders evacuated other occupants of the building to a safe place, while the Lagos State Government (LASG) Fire Service ensured that the fire was curtailed from spreading into nearby buildings and completely extinguished the inferno.
He said also that the crowd and traffic control were managed with the help of the Police, LASTMA and FRSC adding that the OPIC Plaza had been cordoned off as a disaster zone and prepared for further investigations.
He appealed to tanker owners to ensure that their trucks were certified roadworthy before embarking on a journey.
In case you missed it
Nairametrics, on Friday, June 18, 2021, reported the explosion of a liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tanker while in motion at about 10.32 pm on Thursday.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) officials said that 3 dead bodies were recovered from the scene of the tanker explosion around OPIC plaza on Mobolaji Bank-Anthony Way, Ikeja.
The NEMA official explained that the resulting fire travelled with the wind to the premises of OPIC Plaza beside Sheraton Hotel, which houses different commercial outfits including a Chinese Restaurant.
