Dispute between truck driver, supervisor led to gas explosion -LASEMA

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) says the explosion which rocked the Ifako-Ijaiye area of Lagos state occurred after a dispute between truck driver and his supervisor at Mana Gas Plant.

NigerianEye had reported how the gas explosion which occurred in the area on Thursday left several persons injured.

Speaking with reporters at the scene, Olatunde Akinsanya, LASEMA director of operations, said the agency received a distress call around past 3pm, indicating that an LP gas explosion occurred along Iju-Ishaga road.

He said findings revealed that the driver drove out in anger after which the truck’s tyre burst, leading to a spark which triggered the explosion.

“Investigation revealed that there was a dispute between Mana gas and the truck owner who brought the gas to them because the seal has been tampered,” he said.

“There used to be a manufacturer seal from the place it is been loaded. So this supervisor at Mana gas who is to take custody of the gas said it has been tampered with so he is not going to take it. So it was with that annoyance the driver of the truck was coming out of this axis and suddenly the front tyre burst.

“In the process, the gear section hit the concrete and there was a spark. It was this spark that provoked gas explosion along the seal that had been tampered.

“Of course, there has been gradual leakage on his way from Mana to this point. I hope if there hadn’t been any gradual leakage or the seal had not been tampered we would not have had this kind of explosion.

“An attempt to move the vehicle out plunged the vehicle into that drainage and subsequently there was the second explosion. It was the first leakage that caused a gradual explosion but when the heat denegerated to a large extent. So the first explosion had given signal to the people around. If not, the casualty will be about 100 because along this corridor we have people that are welders, mechanics, carpenters, there is an event centre too.

“So around 400 people were at the scene when it happened but the first explosion gave the first warning which led many people to run away. However, the impact of the explosion got to the point of about 300 radius from here which means that about 300 meters away from here, the impact of the explosion was heavily felt.”

Akinsanya said 16 persons were injured during the incident, adding that no death has been recorded.