Five persons were Tuesday confirmed dead from a gas explosion at the busy Ladipo area of Mushin, Lagos.
The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) were said to have responded promptly to the incident.
The emergency responders said the figure comprised three men, a woman and a child.
The officials said the explosion occurred around 08:42am at 21 Ojekunle Street, off Ladipo Road.
The Southwest coordinator of NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye, confirmed that five persons died.
A statement by the Lagos State Fire Service’s director, Margaret Adeseye, also confirmed the recovery of dead bodies.
The statement reads in part: “The gas incident which was reported at 08:42 hours Tuesday morning via the state emergency reporting platform was swiftly responded to by a combination of first and secondary responders.
“On arrival at the scene, it was discovered that it is an open space used for several activities including a beer parlour, mechanic workshop, spare parts sale and gas shop amongst others while housing a makeshift structure.
“Three male adults had been recovered as rescue and recovery operations continue and the environment isolated from causing any further secondary incident.
“Preliminary investigations to establish the fact of the incident continue and further discovery will be made public.”
Also, coordinator of the NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye said: “So far, four adults comprising three males and one female (mama Funmi) were recovered dead while the only infant rescued died before getting to hospital. The fire has been put out and recovery of bodies is ongoing.”
