Five bodies recovered from Lagos tanker explosion

Emergency workers have confirmed five deaths were recorded in the gas tanker explosion that occurred on Thursday night along Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way.

Three of the bodies, said to be adult males, were found inside one of the stores at the OPIC plaza by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) around 7am on Friday.

It was gathered that they were found while the officials were searching for a child whose mother was rescued at the wee hour of Friday.

It was learnt the woman, who was at the Chinese Restaurant, kept crying about her child when she was being evacuated to the hospital which gave insights that someone was trapped.

As officials went from one room to the other in search of the kid, they discovered three bodies of men who got trapped by the fire.

The other two, including a child, were discovered by a vulcaniser who led FRSC officials on traffic control duty to the spot.

Contacted, Director General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu confirmed that five bodies have been recovered and 13 injured persons evacuated to the hospital.

He said the agency responded to a distress call shortly before midnight on Thursday concerning a tanker explosion which extended to the OPIC Plaza and damaged 22 parked vehicles within the premises.

“First responders worked to control the spread to the adjacent properties as well as the nearby petrol station until 0400hrs Friday.

“Thirteen people with various degrees of burns were rescued comprising nine males and four females. They were provided with pre hospital care before taken to Lagos State health facilities for further treatment

“The affected truck has been moved, the entire affected area cordoned off and post disaster assessment ongoing,” he said.