Gas explosion in Nigeria: eight dead, dozens of buildings destroyed
Lagos, Nigeria - At least eight people were killed when a gas plant exploded in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos, the regional State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) said on Thursday.
![At least eight people were killed in an explosion in Lagos on Thursday (stock image).](https://media.tag24.de/951x634/z/l/zl6crbgfgyqdf322rw9zcoekf8x8tdyn.jpg)
The explosion, which occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning, destroyed 25 houses, 16 shops and a primary school, the agency said in a statement.
The death toll was likely to rise as firefighters and rescue services were trying to secure the site and investigate the accident, SEMA Lagos official Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu told state-owned broadcaster Radio Nigeria.
The explosion occurred when sparks caused by a faulty generator ignited a gas tanker truck, which was discharging gas at the plant, Ibrahim Farinloye of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said in a statement.
The explosion had been so strong that it "threw the discharging tanker across the road," according to Farinloye.
Thursday's explosion is the second such incident in Lagos, a mega city of roughly 21 million people, within three weeks.
On September 24, some 30 people were injured, while 23 buildings and 15 vehicles were destroyed by a similar gas plant explosion elsewhere in the city.
The incident was blamed on poor safety standards in handling highly inflammable materials.
Cover photo: 123rf/ostariyanov