By HENRY OLADELE

Two persons on Monday suffered life threatening injuries from a gas explosion that occurred on Monday around Orile-Iganmu, a Lagos Suburb.

The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu confirmed the incident in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He said the gas explosion was reported through the Lagos State 767 and 112 Toll Free Emergency numbers at 16:15hrs.

“LASEMA activated the State Emergency Response Plans, with the prompt arrival of LRT from Onipanu Base at the incident scene by 16:46hrs.

“Upon arrival at the scene of incident, cooking gas cylinders of various sizes stored in a mini warehouse were found to have exploded.

“Further investigation revealed that one of the cylinders in the storage facility exploded in the process of transfer of the gaseous content from one cylinder to another.

“The building which comprise of six residential flats on two floors, also served as an illegal storage facility for about 30 gas cylinders,” he said.

He added that cylinders of various sizes were found at the scene which served as a sale point for cooking gas in the residential area.

“No lives were lost, however, the owner of the gas facility and his staff member, both adult males, suffered serious life threatening injuries.

“They have been taken to an undisclosed hospital before arrival of the agency’s officials.

“The explosion however, didn’t seem to affect the structural stability of the building as there are no visible wall cracks.

“Efforts are ongoing to evacuate all the gas cylinders from the residential building within the next 24 hours, to eliminate the occurrence of secondary explosion,” Oke-Osanyintolu said. (NAN)

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