A filling station belonging to 11 Plc, located at Obafemi Awolowo road, in Ikeja, Lagos, has been razed by fire.
The fire explosion at the filling station operating a Mobil Oil franchise occurred on Thursday morning.
A gas tanker, cars and buses at the filling station were burnt.
Confirming the incident, Margaret Adeseye, director of Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, said the fire incident started when a gas tanker exploded while discharging contents to the storage tanks.
The agency said the inferno destroyed eight vehicles, including the gas tanker and affected part of a nearby two-storey building.
“Upon arrival, the fire crews discovered that a gas truck was discharging its content into a surface storage tank when it ignited,” Adeseye said.
“The blaze quickly spread, engulfing a total of eight vehicles, including the tanker itself, and affecting parts of the uppermost floor of a nearby two-storey building.
“Several individuals sustained injuries and were transported to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for treatment. The exact number of injuries is still being determined.”
However, Nosa Okunbor, head, public affairs unit, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), said the fire outbreak occurred while gas was being dispensed to customers.
“Following investigations by the Agency’s LRT, as reported by one of the Mobil officers, revealed that damage occurred to the 8-ton LPG gas cylinder truck while gas was being dispensed to customers, causing the gas to escape rapidly, before bursting into flames,” Okunbor said.
He said the fire has been extinguished and all safety precautions have been implemented to secure “the two LPG gas cylinder trucks, (weighing 12 and 8 tons respectively), from any further incidents”.
“The Agency’s LRT, along with the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, NEMA, LASBCA, LNSC, FRSC, LASAMBUS, and the Nigerian Police Force, are involved in further response and investigations,” Okunbor said.
“All primary responders at the incident scene are working together to clear the scene and quickly return normalcy to the environment.”
Okunbor said LASEMA response team, LASEMA pre-hospital care unit, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and some police officers were on ground.
