The National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) has confirmed a four-year-old girl in critical condition at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) after a cooking gas explosion ravaged the residence of her parents located at 1,Odubanwo Street, Off Olaniyi Street, Gbinrinmi in Ojokoro LCDA, Lagos.
It was also confirmed that 11 families were rendered homeless as a result of the inferno.
A NEMA South-West coordinator, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, said the accident involved three other adults, a grandfather, grand mother and her uncle, undergoing burn care treatment at the hospital.
“The grandmother who is under severe pains spoke to NEMA team in hospital that she was frying meat and suddenly the oil caught flame and efforts to control it got beyond their capacity, which led to the explosion of the cooking gas.
“A little girl of 4 years, Faridat Shittu, was sleeping in the room when the incident happened yesterday at about 1400hours but was rescued successfully by community members and other injured victims,” he said.
Farinloye explained that the whole building of 14 rooms, including shops completely went down in rubbles due to the intensity of the explosion thereby rendering 11 families homeless.
He said that the landlord of the victims, Pa Femi Odubanwo Solomon, disclosed that neighbours saved him from dying in the incident as he was initially trapped and presently squatting in a church opposite his razed house.
In another incident, about 100 planks and building materials’ shops including 18 recycling iron and steel shops were razed down. Others included 19 diesel Lister generators; 34 motorcycle machines; five-14 seaters buses; 3 cars and 2 trucks were also affected in a massive market fire at a multi-purpose sawmill market located at Awori Bus stop behind GTB Bank, Abule Egba in Lagos.
The coordinator stated that the fire which started at about 1525 hours lasted till about 1720 hours before it was put out completely.
No one sustained any injury and no casualty recorded. However, the chairman of Ojokoro LCDA and his medical team were at hand, rendering assistance to the victims of the 2 incidents that happened in the area.
