Lagos pipeline blast kills 15, destroys several buildings - Nigerian officials

Record ID: 1464016

  • Title: Lagos pipeline blast kills 15, destroys several buildings - Nigerian officials
  • Date: 15th March 2020
  • Summary: LAGOS, NIGERIA (MARCH 15, 2020) (REUTERS) SMOKE RISING IN AIR PEOPLE WATCHING FIRE VARIOUS OF FLAMES AND PEOPLE WALKING NEARBY VARIOUS FIREFIGHTERS SPRAYING WATER ON FLAMES FIREFIGHTER TRUCK PARKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) EYEWITNESS, GODWIN, SAYING: "The fire started with smoke. Gradually, gradually. The smoke was coming up and later we heard a sound, very big one and everywhere exploded. Some houses collapsed even the rooves. Everywhere collapsed. And some people died, even the school here people died. Yes people died. The (unintelligible) school was here. Students died.” VARIOUS OF FLAMES AND WRECKAGE VARIOUS OF FIRE BURNING AND WRECKAGE OF BUILDINGS PEOPLE LOOKING AT WRECKAGE VARIOUS OF WRECKAGE CLOTHES IN THE MIDDLE OF WRECKAGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) DRIVER FOR BETHLEHEM GIRLS SECONDARY SCHOOL, JERRY IKEADA SAYING: "This morning they just called me that there is a fire in the school so I just rushed down because I am living in this place in the staff quarters. If you watch you can see this is my cloth here so I just rushed down to come and see. As I came here and everywhere was exploded. Fire everywhere so I don't even know about the whereabouts of the students where they are right now.” MAN WITH GLOVES WRAPPING A BODY
  • Embargoed: 29th March 2020 15:45
  • Keywords: Blast Explosion Fire Lagos Nigeria Oil Pipeline
  • Location: LAGOS, NIGERIA
  • City: LAGOS, NIGERIA
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA001C55X7BB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
    A pipeline explosion on Sunday (March 15) killed at least 15 people and destroyed about 50 buildings after a fire broke out in a suburb of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, emergency services said.
    Several people were injured and taken to hospital, according to Ibrahim Farinloye, zonal coordinator for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
    Plumes of smoke billowed into the air as people watched, while firefighters tried to quench the flames, a Reuters witness said.
    Farinloye said some of the buildings collapsed while many rooftops were blown up. He said the cause of the explosion was not known.
    "We cannot actually say immediately what caused it. There was fire on the pipeline," Farinloye told Reuters. "The explosion destroyed over 50 residential houses," he added.
    Pipeline fires in Nigeria, Africa's biggest crude oil producer, are common and they are mostly caused by theft and sabotage. The methods used to steal oil often result in accidents that cause fires.
    (Production: Seun Sanni, Angela Ukomadu, Nneka Chile, Gabriela Boccaccio)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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