A yet-to-be identified woman and her three years old child were among the five persons confirmed died on Monday following a pipeline explosion that engulfed Ekoro/Ile-Epo areas in Abule-Egba, Lagos yesterday.
Our reporter learnt that the remains of the deceased were evacuated and deposited at the morgue by officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA).
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC), Lagos State Command, Kehinde Bada, who confirmed the figures to Daily Trust in Lagos said the explosion occurred as a result of a faulty pipe.
“It is not a case of vandalism as been said. It started from a peg failure. Our men first noticed Petroleum products oozing out of the failed portion of the pipe around 6pm on Sunday.
“Officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) were duly informed and they promptly sent staff from their maintainance department to the area.
“But the explosion occurred before they arrived the area. From our record, five persons died in the fire. They include three male adults, one lady and a child of about three years.
“14 houses and 36 vehicles were burnt. Rescue workers from relevant government agencies were on ground to battle the fire,” Bada said.
