Five people have been confirmed dead from the gas explosion which affected the Ogun State Property Investment Corporation, OPIC, in Ikeja area of Lagos State last night.
Our Correspondent gathered that three bodies were recovered from the scene earlier today, while two of the thirteen victims who sustained varying degrees of injuries and taken to the hospital last night had also died.
Reports have it that a loaded gas tanker exploded while on motion along the road inward Ikeja by Sheraton hotel at about 10pm in the night with the escaped gas spreading into the OPIC Plaza and igniting some gas cylinders behind a Chinese restaurant.
Speaking with newsmen after assessing the extent of the damage, the Director-General of the Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola who said the Agency had recently held a meeting with gas marketers and other stakeholders, stated that the Safety Commission in conjunction with other government agencies had commenced investigations into the incident suspected to have been caused by the negligence of the gas tanker driver.
The Special Adviser to the Ogun State Governor and Managing Director, OPIC, Mr. Abiodun Fari-Arole said he had briefed his Governor about the incident and that the post disaster assessment and integrity test on the plaza from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency was being awaited.
27 vehicles and three motorcycles were affected in the incident, while the back of the OPIC Plaza, housing a Chinese restaurant was blown out by the gas explosion.
