Gas Explosion: Man Battle For Survive As Shop Owners Count Losses

One person was said to be battling for survival at the hospital where he was rushed to after the gas explosion in the Iju Ishaga area of Lagos.

The shop owners at Toyin Bus Stop, where the explosion occurred are still counting their losses after the Tuesday night gas explosion that burnt down their businesses.

It was learnt that over 15 shops were razed down by the explosion that raged on for hours before the arrival of firefighters and other responders.

Witnesses at the scene said that a truck loaded with gas had come to offload content at a cooking gas store and one of the cylinders exploded in the process causing the fire.

The inferno was said to have spread from the cooking gas store at Toyin bus stop, Iju-Ishaga, to other shops on the line.

At the time of filing this report, emergency responders were still putting out the fire in one of the shops and controlling human and vehicular traffic in the area.

One of the victims, Who simply gave her name as Madam Elizabeth who has a cream shop told our Correspondent that she lost over N13 million worth of cream, “I mix cream and sell for people.

The list of creams that I sell is N5,000. I have a cream of N25,000. I have the one of M50,000 The worst is that I just stalk my market. I lost over N13 million. I had closed the shop, locked up my shop and I was hoping for today ( Valentine’s Day), to hook up with my customers who said they would come early.

“My brother, see what has befallen me and my other colleagues? This is just the beginning of the year.it is too early to start a year with such a tragedy like this.”

Another shop owner, Mr Daniel Eze, who claimed he lost close to N50 million, said he sells electrical materials, “I am finished. Who will bail me out? What I heard was that fire was burning our shops.

I didn’t envisage that it would touch mine, because my shop is on the other side of the road. I just rushed down to sympathise with my colleagues but when I arrived at the scene, I saw that the fire had spread to my side and burnt down everything in it.

“My shop was completely razed down. I could not remove a pin from my shop. I am calling on the Government to come to our rescue because some of us will go back home or become a beggar on the street”.

Mr Samuel Afolabi, a resident thanked the management of Kerosene Filling Station who did their best to douse the fire before firefighters and other responders arrived, ‘ We thought that the fire started from the filling Station.

The management unleashed their staff and fire extinguishers on the fire. If not for him, the fire would have caused more damage. if not for the filling station, the fire would have engulfed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which stands between the shops and the filling station.”

Mr. Michael Ndubuisi told our Correspondent that,” we thought it was war. I live opposite the gas shop where the fire started, but I was already in my room preparing to go to bed when I started hearing the sound of explosives.

The sound of the explosion was loud, I ran out of my house and I was running when I saw other people running too. The road was full of confusion.

“It was after some while that I was able to figure out what had really happened, it was not a battle or bomb explosion, but a gas explosion, so I started making contacts with some of my friends who would help to call the emergency responders.

In fact, much as I fell for those whose shops were destroyed, I am very happy that the fire did not escalate to residential buildings, it would have caused more problems because we have buildings with over 100 residents.

“I also blame the landlord who rented that gas shop to the owner of the gas store. I equally blame those who rented shops near a gas store. I want to appeal to the government to make laws that will stop gas from selling from residential areas.”

The South West Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye, who confirmed the incident, however, urged people around Iju Ishaga to calm down and avoid panic, as the Fire Service has brought the situation under control completely.

“It was reported that a store with a cooking gas cylinder exploded. It occurred the restoration of electricity to the area. Fire Service has brought the situation under control completely,” he said.

At the time of filing this report, there was still a mammoth crowd on the road who came to see the damage done by the explosion.

A senior police officer told our Correspondent that if it not for the intervention of the police and other sister agencies, hoodlums would have cashed in on the chaotic situation to loot other shops,” even while the fire was still raging, scavengers have started picking everything on sight. We have to chase them away”.