A gas cylinder explosion triggered a fire emergency Sunday afternoon in the Ijora Badia area of Lagos, leaving 15 residents with burn injuries, according to the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service.
The incident occurred around 4:10pm at 12, Amosu Street, Apapa Iganmu LCDA, when a 25kg gas cylinder leaked inside a mini shop containing five similar cylinders.
The shop was located within a mixed-use bungalow housing 15 self-contained rooms and 7 commercial shops.
Margaret Adeseye, Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, confirmed in an official statement: “The resultant fire has been extinguished and remains of the gas cylinders evacuated. Danger has been completely averted and normalcy restored to the area.”
Preliminary findings indicate the blast occurred when “gas leakage from mishandling of products attracted a nearby flame before resulting in explosion,” the statement noted.
Emergency responders treated 15 casualties – including adults and children of both genders – for varying degrees of burns. “A number of the victims have been administered first aid, while others have been taken to hospital,” Adeseye stated, emphasizing that “none of the cases are life-threatening.”
