Fewer than 12 vehicles, including two fully loaded tanker trucks were on Thursday burnt in an explosion that rocked a filling station in Lekki Phase 11 area of Lagos State.
According to a report by the Nigerian Tribune, the two trucks were discharging petrol and diesel at ASCON filling station, Lekki Phase 1, when the fire started and instantly spread to the vehicles around the area and resulted in an explosion.
The newspaper reports that many people, including a fire fighter were injured as firemen and residents, as well as workers in the area attempted to put off the fire, which raged for over four hours.
An eyewitness, who simply identified herself as Joy told Nigerian Tribune that “we heard more than two loud explosions and each of them came with big fire.”
According to her, the two trucks were trying to discharge their content but they were not parked within the premises of the filling station, when the fire started.
The fire reportedly started from one of the tankers and instantly spread to the other vehicles parked along the street.
Some of the residents and workers in the area, who were battling the fire, before the arrival of the fire fighters were injured and treated by the Lagos State Ambulance Service.
The timely arrival of fire fighters from the Lagos State Fire Service, however, saved the residential and other buildings around the burning filling station.
The director of the Lagos State Fire Service, while confirming the explosion to the Nigerian Tribune said that fire servicemen from Eti Osa Onikan and Epe battled the fire.
Fadipe also stated that many of the houses in the area suffered radiation, while also stating that a fire man suffered a broken hand, in the course of fighting the fire.
He stated that apart from the two trucks, ten vehicles of different brands, two motorcycles and a service pump at the filling station were destroyed in the inferno
