TWELVE years after at least 260 people were killed and 60 injured in an oil pipeline blast in Abule Egba in Lagos, the area again went up in flames in the early hours of Wednesday
Unconfirmed reports put the number of casualties at five – four persons with minor cases and one person that had serious injury. Vehicles and other properties were consumed in the inferno as residents scampered for safety.
This is not the first time that Abule Agba is experiencing a fire outbreak of this magnitude. In 2006, at least 260 people were killed in the area by fire, according to BBC. The previous catastrophic fire happened as hundreds of people were scooping fuel from a pipeline punctured by thieves.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) confirmed that today’s fire which started in the morning was caused by oil spillage from a tanker involved in pipeline vandalisation.
Ongoing response .
Location: Oko Oba road by Tipper Garage Agege.
Cause of incident fire caused by oil spillage from tanker #abuleegba
Please avoid route where possible.
Updates to follow pic.twitter.com/nJ3mEqdYBq— LRU #Call112 (@lasemasocial) December 19, 2018
Although the fire had been contained, it left behind massive destruction of property. Residents were seen on the scene trying to salvage what they could from the rumbles.
