Gas explosion rocks Ladipo market, five killed, 1,000 shops shut down
Modupe Shodeinde
A gas explosion which occurred on Tuesday morning on Ojekunle Street in the Ladipo area of Mushin in Lagos State, has resulted in no fewer than five deaths.
The explosion which rocked one of the largest spare parts hubs in Nigeria, occurred around 8am on Tuesday.
The Director-General of the Lagos State Safety Commission, Lanre Mojola, confirmed at the scene that five lives were lost as a result of the explosion.
He, however, declined comments on the number of injured persons
The deceased were said to include four male adults and one female adult.
The Director, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye had in an ‘Emergency Alert’ stated that those that died in the explosion were three males.
According to her, the incident occurred in an open space used for several activities including a beer parlour, mechanic workshop, spare parts sale and gas shop amongst others while housing a makeshift structure.
She added that, preliminary investigations to establish the fact of the incident will continue and further discovery will be made public.
Businesses were also paralysed in the market as over 1,000 shops were shut down as a result of the deadly gas explosion that rocked a mechanic workshop on number 35 and 37 of the long lane.
The Punch reports that about 60 buildings including two-storey and one-storey structures wholly housing shops were closed for business activities due to the incident.
