No fewer than 40 shops, four buildings, 25 vehicles and six tricycles were ravaged by fire on Tuesday in the Iyana-Ipaja area of Lagos after a fuel-laden tanker marked, KJA 238 XN, skidded off the bridge and was engulfed in flames.
The tanker, carrying 33,000 litres of petrol, was said to have fallen on a van parked under the bridge, spilling its content which ran through the drainage channels from Iyana-Ipaja Road to Adebanjo, Oremeji, Oki and Bakare Jafojo streets.
The driver is still on the run.
Our correspondent gathered that property worth millions of naira was lost to the inferno, which started around 2am on Tuesday, just as two similar occurrences were averted at the Badagry area of the state after two other tankers fell.
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It will be recalled that about 85 lives were lost on Sunday to a fire disaster sparked off by a derailed fuel tanker in Onitsha, Anambra State.
The Tuesday fire reportedly broke out after an electric surge from a high tension on Bakare Jafojo Street. The petrol in the drain caught fire and raged back to Iyana Ipaja Road where the spillage started.
We learnt that about 14 persons were injured while scampering to safety. Some miscreants were also said to have cashed in on the incident to loot shops.
It was learnt that the Lagos State Fire Service responded with a 50,000 litres of water to put out the fire around 4am. No life was lost.
The Tuesday fire reportedly broke out after an electric surge from a high tension on Bakare Jafojo Street. The petrol in the drain caught fire and raged back to Iyana Ipaja Road where the spillage started.
We learnt that about 14 persons were injured while scampering to safety. Some miscreants were also said to have cashed in on the incident to loot shops.
It was learnt that the Lagos State Fire Service responded with a 50,000 litres of water to put out the fire around 4am. No life was lost.
As of 1pm when our correspondents left the area, a combined team of Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, the Nigerian Police Force, Federal Road Safety Corps and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were on ground.
Sympathisers besieged the area as shop owners counted their losses. Officials of LASEMA were also seen spraying foams on the spilled content to make it less potent.
A trader, Bintu Ariyo, who sells food and drinks, told us that all the valuables in her shops were consumed by the fire.
She said, “I sell rice and sachet water. My refrigerator and every other things are gone. I am doomed.”
Izuchukwu Eze, a dealer in electronics, estimated the goods he lost to the fire at about N4m.
He said, “I live in the neighbourhood. I was woken up by shouts of fire around 2am. When I came out, I saw that my shop was also on fire. I was helpless because I couldn’t go near the fire. I sell electrical equipment; everything in the shop was destroyed. The goods were worth over N4m.”
Sympathisers besieged the area as shop owners counted their losses. Officials of LASEMA were also seen spraying foams on the spilled content to make it less potent.
A trader, Bintu Ariyo, who sells food and drinks, told us that all the valuables in her shops were consumed by the fire.
She said, “I sell rice and sachet water. My refrigerator and every other things are gone. I am doomed.”
Izuchukwu Eze, a dealer in electronics, estimated the goods he lost to the fire at about N4m.
He said, “I live in the neighbourhood. I was woken up by shouts of fire around 2am. When I came out, I saw that my shop was also on fire. I was helpless because I couldn’t go near the fire. I sell electrical equipment; everything in the shop was destroyed. The goods were worth over N4m.”
A phone dealer, Uchenna Young, lamented his loss. He added that he stocked his shop on Monday.
“I tried to save some of my property, but the heat and the smoke were too much. That shop was the only source of livelihood I had.”
A pharmacist, Emmanuel Aguh, said he was devastated, adding that only God could redeem the loss done to him by the incident.
He said, “The drugs inside that shop were more than N300,000. I don’t know where to start again. Unfortunately, some people saw the incident as an opportunity to steal.”
A resident, Jamiu Okanlawon, said his Toyota Camry and two cars of his neighbours got burnt.
“Twenty two other cars were burnt and no fewer than 40 shops were engulfed in flames. Six tricycles also got burnt,” he added.
A woman, Jemilat Lawal, whose house was razed, said, “My husband, children and I escaped through the window. Our property was destroyed. We could not pick anything. The only property we have now are the clothes we are putting on.”
A resident, who identified himself only as Femi, said he narrowly escaped death while he was trying to salvage some of his documents.
He said, “The incident was like a nightmare. A wire sparked around 1.30am when electricity was restored and a flash dropped inside the drainage channel where the fuel had spilled. My wife woke me up that there was fire everywhere. I took my two kids together with my wife and we escaped through the fence. ”
“I tried to save some of my property, but the heat and the smoke were too much. That shop was the only source of livelihood I had.”
A pharmacist, Emmanuel Aguh, said he was devastated, adding that only God could redeem the loss done to him by the incident.
He said, “The drugs inside that shop were more than N300,000. I don’t know where to start again. Unfortunately, some people saw the incident as an opportunity to steal.”
A resident, Jamiu Okanlawon, said his Toyota Camry and two cars of his neighbours got burnt.
“Twenty two other cars were burnt and no fewer than 40 shops were engulfed in flames. Six tricycles also got burnt,” he added.
A woman, Jemilat Lawal, whose house was razed, said, “My husband, children and I escaped through the window. Our property was destroyed. We could not pick anything. The only property we have now are the clothes we are putting on.”
A resident, who identified himself only as Femi, said he narrowly escaped death while he was trying to salvage some of his documents.
He said, “The incident was like a nightmare. A wire sparked around 1.30am when electricity was restored and a flash dropped inside the drainage channel where the fuel had spilled. My wife woke me up that there was fire everywhere. I took my two kids together with my wife and we escaped through the fence. ”
Source; Punch Metro
Thank God no live was lost but I really pity all this people their shops and cars got burn
ReplyDeleteHmmmmm. I pity that guy in that pix...
ReplyDeleteThank God nobody died
ReplyDelete