Lagos tanker explosion: Residents count losses, blame fuel station over alleged negligence

Some residents of Idi-Oro, Mushin in Lagos who lost properties to the fuel tanker explosion that occurred when the tanker, laden with 33,000 litres of petrol, was discharging its content have blamed the management of the Mobil filling station over what they described as negligence.

They disclosed this in an interview conducted by our analysts.

The residents, who claimed that property worth several million was lost to the explosion on Wednesday, explained that while the management of the filling station and concerned regulatory government agencies had promised to get to the root cause of the explosion, they alleged that the station does not take necessary safety precautions.

What they are saying about the explosion

• One of the residents, whose property and belongings were destroyed, said, “The affected tanker had been at the station for about 24 hours waiting for no reason. They have no required safety measures in place, which I believe must have led to the explosion. I have lost everything I have including my appliances and credentials. What I have left is the cloth I wore to the office.”
• Another resident, who owns a building that was gutted by the inferno, said, “Everytgging is still like a dream to me as we speak and I don’t know where to start from. The management of the station is negligent on it’s part, as it failed to take necessary safety measures considering the station was built in a residential area.”

11 Plc, Fire Service react

The management of the Mobil filling station, in a statement, revealed that it was investigating the cause of the incident, as measures would ensure to forestall a recurrence.

• It stated, “11 Plc management (operator of Mobil Service Station) would like to bring to the attention of the general public that there was a fire incident at one of our retail service stations (filling station) at Idi-Oro, Mushin, this afternoon during the product discharge operation.
• “Thankfully, with the help of the Lagos State Fire Service, our in-house fire team and other operators’ fire logistics, the fire has been properly contained. We are now entering the phase of investigating the cause of the incident as well as taking stock to ascertain the level of damage and to put corrective processes in place to forestall any future recurrence.”
• The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Mrs Margaret Adeseye, stated, “Preliminary investigation revealed that it was a 33,000 tanker that was fully laden with Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, that was on fire.”
• “Although the cause of the disaster had yet to be ascertained, officials of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service remain on top of the situation and would provide necessary updates as situation demands,” she added.
• The Head of Public Education, Lagos State Fire Service, Amodu Shakiru, stated, “Nobody died in the incident; the driver sustained some injuries. He had third-degree burns treated by LASAMBUS at the scene of the incident.”

Among the emergency responders at the scene were the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, National Emergency Management Agency, Lagos State Fire Service, Federal Fire Service, University of Lagos Fire Service, Disaster Management Unit of the Lagos State Police Command, Federal Road Safety Corps and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

What you should know

The explosion took place around 1pm on Wednesday at Idi-Oro, in the Mushin area of Lagos State, when a 33,000 litres tanker loaded with Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) exploded while discharging its content at a Mobil Filling Station in the community.

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