Six of the 13 victims evacuated at Ijegun, Igando / Ikotun Local Council Development Area, by Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) during the July 4 pipeline explosion fire have died.
The Nigeria News Agency (NAN) states that this increases to 10 the total of fatalities from the Lagos suburb pipeline explosion.
On July 4, a pipeline explosion occurred in Ijegun, Lagos State, causing inhabitants residing several kilometers from the fire spot in the Isheri community and Kudeyibu Estate to panic and flee from their homes as the flames escalated and spread near a petrol station in the region.
The inferno, which on the spot claimed two lives and wrecked several buildings and properties, also left 13 victims with different level of burnt wounds.
The victims were rescued by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), which brought them for first aid to the Igando General Hospital and later to the Gbagada General Hospital.
For shortage of space, the hospital was unable to accommodate the victims, which caused them to transfer the victims for timely attention to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).
A NAN correspondent who visited some of the victims ‘ families, however, found that the first two died on Friday, July 5, despite attempts to save their lives at LASUTH, while four others died on Saturday, July 6.
Veronica Odogwu, one of the victims ‘ sister-in-law, Nnabuife Emerokwem, told NAN that, despite all medical attention, her in-law struggled to survive but ultimately succumbed to death.
Mrs Odogwu, who is an experienced nurse said: “My late brother-in-law died in the early hours of Saturday because the burns were of high degree, which led to swelling in his head.
“As soon as LASEMA brought my in-law, alongside other victims, from the Igando General Hospital where they were given some first aid to LASUTH, they gave a long list of urgent drugs and apparatus we needed.
“At first, we tried to complain because we were told that all medical expenses would be taken care of, but the state of our victims did not allow us go into that kind of argument.
“As I speak to you, we spent over N60,000, trying to rescue my brother-in-law who was caught up in his Volvo car, while driving past by the side of the Catholic Church.
“We were made to pay or provide those things for treatment,” she said.
Mrs. Odogwu informed NAN that her late brother-in-law was caught in the blast because he was behind the bus driver whose vehicle exploded as he tried to ignite his bus engine.
According to her, the late Mr. Emorokwem, a father of three kids, was unable to escape the fire because he was trapped between the bus and another vehicle, so he went out with the burns instantly.
“He did not meet his end immediately because he ran out and started calling out for help; but the driver of the bus and a security agent jumped into the canal close by, not knowing it was already filled with fuel,” she told NAN.
She said it was unfortunate that some families at LASUTH lost their loved ones because they were unable to afford the hospital’s medical costs and requirements.
According to her, the hospital refused to release her brother-in-law’s body because they said an autopsy had to be performed on him.
“So, we intend to move him to the village after the exercise,” she said.
Meanwhile, their house was closed when NAN visited another family whose members were victims of the explosion.
The family of 12, who lost their dad, mother and first son, lived next to a canal in the region where the explosion happened.
A close neighbour, Kamoli Kareem, who also witnessed the fire explosion, told NAN that the fire flowed down the canal between 5 a.m. and 5:20 a.m. after a loud explosion was heard.
“Myself and my family were still asleep when I heard a loud blast.
“I came out to see a fast flowing fire in the very wide canal that was witnessing erosion and we luckily escaped through the kitchen door.
“The family of 12 had locked their windows and doors and so did not hear the alarm.
“As soon as the fire got to their flat, it enveloped their house and there was no place for escape,” he told to NAN.
He said the father, mother, and a son’s bodies that were returned from the hospital on Sunday were taken away for burial while two other members of that family were still in the hospital.
Mr Kareem asked the government to reconstruct the canal appropriately, as the erosion had already cut into their homes, a reason why the fire had entered their homes.
NAN checked on another set of victims ‘ homes as well, a daughter and mother.
The house was deserted, however. The outside door was open, and the items seen were a burnt mattress that the victim was on.
For fear of another explosion, other tenants residing near the canal are yet to return as the fuel smell was still heavy in the surroundings.
When NAN contacted LASUTH authorities to determine the health status of the remaining hospital casualties, they refused to provide an update, stating “investigations are still ongoing”.
NAN reports that the fire explosion that occurred at the bus stop “Fire Junction” in Ijegun on July 4, 2019 affected parts of the Ijegun Community primary and high schools, the Catholic Church fence, and other buildings.
It was triggered by unknown pipeline vandals that, according to reliable sources, attempted to scoop petrol from the pipeline.
The vandals had already fled with more than 10 tankers and tried to transfer another when the pipeline exploded and petrol spilled down the canal.
The said canal, kilometers away from the tanker, was already filled with petrol and thus caught fire next to the Catholic Church when an LT bus driver attempted to start the bus engine.
Two men were lost as a result of the explosion, along with more than 30 vehicles, houses and properties worth billions of Naira.
This is despite the Lagos State Fire Service’s timely reaction and reinforcements from other metropolitan stations, as well as LASEMA and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation emergency staff.
NAN states that a related inferno took place in May 2008, where several persons were also lost, including school kids, as well as homes and properties worth millions of Naira.
There is therefore an urgent need to step up serious efforts to tighten security and to go tougher on vandalism in the pipeline. (NAN)