Photo credit: Twitter

Eight persons have been confirmed dead following a gas plant explosion which occurred at Baruwa in the Ipaja area of Lagos this Thursday morning. Several houses were also brought down by the explosion.

According to a statement by the Director-General of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the incident occurred around 6:00 am, destroying several property including multi – storey buildings and a school.

He said, “The explosion occurred and the agency activated a response plan. Initial disaster assessment is as follows: Casualties still being assessed but eight fatalities have been identified so far. 25 houses that are mostly bungalows, 16 lock-up shops and one primary school have been affected.

“Firefighters and rescue workers are operating at the incident scene. The gas emission has been identified and curtailed. Damping down is ongoing. Post-disaster assessment will be carried out and further updates provided.”

A tweet by the emergency response agency, @lasemasocial also confirmed the incident.