The Nation Newspaper

Tag: explodes

  • Fuel tanker explodes at Ecobank head office

    Fire yesterday swept through the head office of Ecobank Nigeria Ltd on Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    The incident, which occurred around 8:30am, triggered the firm alarm, forcing workers and customers to flee.

    The fire started from diesel tanker that was discharging its content at the bank’s fuel dump. The dump and many shops close to the bank were destroyed.

    It took the combined efforts of firemen from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), United Bank for Africa (UBA), Julius Berger, Lagos State and Federal Fire Services to prevent the inferno from spreading to adjoining buildings and parked vehicles.

    Officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and police cordoned off the area; the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) diverted traffic.

    A witness, Mr Malachy Okoli, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondents, that the fire started when the tanker was discharging diesel at the dump.

    Okoli said staffers of other banks used their extinguishers to contain the fire before the arrival of fire fighters.

    Some youths were seen scooping diesel from the gutter.

    Federal Fire Service Lagos Command Deputy Commanding Officer Ganiyu Olayiwola said the bank alerted the command around 8.55am.

    “We quickly alerted our people and we were able to contain the fire, the first thing we did was to evacuate all the personnel and secure the area so that we would be able to perform our work effectively,” Olayiwola said.

    LASEMA Director of Operations Femi Giwa said: “At about 8.55 am, we got a distress call at the Lagos State command and control centre concerning an inferno within the Ecobank head office.

    “We activated our response and mobilised our responder to the scene.”

    He said the agency’s officials discovered that a tanker with 33,000 litres of diesel caught fire while transloading, adding “we need to appreciate the Lagos State Fire Service, the Federal Fire Service and LASEMA Response Unit, the Ecobank Fire unit, UBA fire unit, Julius Berger and others for their efforts.

    “We were able to contain the inferno within the generator area where they have the tank and the building, as I speak to you is in good condition and the adjoining buildings were not affected. Personnel and as occupants within the building are evacuated within the muster point. We recorded no injury, no death and as I speak to you we are at the dampening stage.”

    An Ecobank official, Tunde Dawodu, said the fire started at about 8.40 am, when a tanker that came to supply diesel apparently caught fire.

    Dawodu said: “Immediately we activated the emergency protocol and all staff were evacuated from the building even though it did not affect the main building.

    “We decided to fight it with fire gadgets that we had and we reached out to the fire departments, the state, the federal, LASEMA and some other corporate organisations. As you can see it is just the tanker and one of our generators that were affected, it did not affect the building, the personnel or our operations.”

    LASEMA General Manager Adesina Tiamiyu said: “We received a distress call at about 8:54am that there was fire outbreak. The agency mobilised to the incident scene immediately.

    “Upon arrival at the scene of incident, it was discovered that a 33,000-litre tanker laden with diesel caught fire while trans-loading its content around the generator house. The immediate cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained. However, investigation is being conducted to ascertain the actual cause of the inferno. No casualty was recorded. The inferno was completely brought under control. The main structure within the bank premises was also not affected.”

    Lagos State Fire Service Acting Director Musibau Rasaki said they got the information about the incident from the command and complaint centre at 8:55am.

    He said they quickly responded with two fire stations.

    Rasaki said: “We were the first fire station to get to the scene; others came and joined us shortly in less than five minutes. We deployed four trucks to the scene; two from Ibeju-Lekki and another two from Alausa and I was there to monitor the scene.

    “No neighbouring property was affected by the fire except for the tanker, the generator house and the transformer. The report that some properties were damaged is not true. No casualty was recorded; with the effort of all of us, the fire was put under control within a short time and I can confirm that as I speak with you everything has been cleared before I left the scene; what is left is just those on standby. LASEMA officials are also on standby in case of any emergency.  The fire is totally out. It took us over one hour before we put out the fire.”

  • Pipeline explodes day after repair

    A day after its repair, a pipeline in Peace Estate, Baruwa Ipaja, exploded yesterday. Nobody died in the explosion.

    The Nation learnt that one of those who vandalised the pipeline on Tuesday  was arrested and handed over the police.

    It was gathered that it took the combined efforts of the Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), LASEMA Response Unit (LRU) and the police, among others, to put out the fire, which raged for about five hours.

    A passerby,  Tunde Salam, said witnesses heard a loud bang around 6am when the pipeline exploded.

    “This made residents and motorists run for safety. Many people gathered at the scene and the security agencies were on ground to put out the fire; it took them five hours to quench the fire.”

    A resident, simply identified as Solomon, said pipelines had been vandalised in the area on many occasions.

    “It has been a while that they have been vandalising pipelines in that area, but among those who carried out the act on Tuesday night, one of them was arrested and handed over to the police. Those vandals usually come at night and no one can challenge them due to the ammunition they come with.”

    He said the fire began around 6am, noting that someone might have started a fire which later led to the explosion.

    “Someone must have started a fire; the spill of the fuel along the pipeline area that was vandalised must have mixed with the fire and led to the explosion; the fire was much. This area is swampy and it has a water channel,” he said.

    Project Site Engineer, Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr Austin Obi, said the pipeline was repaired on Wednesday,  adding that that  was what led to the explosion.

    “The pipeline was repaired on Wednesday.  The spill came in contact with naked fire early this morning and led to the explosion,” he said.

  • Agip pipeline explodes in Bayelsa, kills 12

    Agip pipeline explodes in Bayelsa, kills 12

    The Tebidaba-Azuzuama pipeline belonging to the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) in Azuzuama, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, exploded yesterday, killing 12 people.

    The fire resulting from the blast was said to have injured four others while one person was declared missing.

    The explosion, described by eyewitnesses as deafening, was said to have quaked the nearby Azuzuama community and created panic among the residents.

    It was gathered that most of the dead and injured victims were workers of Agip who were in the oil field to effect repairs on the pipeline.

    A source said the pipeline was earlier ruptured and caused oil to spill in the environment, but Agip decided to clamp the damaged point and carry out general repairs on the pipeline.

    A source who pleaded anonymity said: “The victims are Agip workers. The pipeline was breached and Agip deployed workers to weld the tampered point.

    “There was no safety precaution and a spark during the welding must have caused the explosion. The explosion was deafening and the fire spread to far distance.”

    The source said the incident occurred at about 5:30pm on Thursday, adding that there was no report that a security operative was a victim of the explosion.

    But another source said the blast happened during a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) to determine the cause of the spill from the damaged pipeline.

    The source, who spoke in confidence, said the victims were burnt beyond recognition.

    He, however, added that the JIV team comprised delegates from the Ministry of Environment, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), NAOC and representatives of Azuzuama community.

    A former Vice-Chairman of the Azuzuama Community Development Committee (CDC), Mr. Dennis Dumde, said 12 bodies were recovered from the site of the explosion.

    “The identities of the victims could not be ascertained. They were burnt beyond recognition,” he said.

    A resident, who identified himself simply as Steve, claimed that the explosion occurred when a bulldozer hired to clear the spill site hit the pipeline.

    He said: “We heard a loud bang and we saw a thick smoke coming from the location of the ruptured pipeline. Many of the villagers rushed to the site but the fire had taken over the bush and they could not rescue anybody.

    “At about 8pm, a rescue team was raised by the villagers to search the scene. Four bodies were recovered on Thursday night. Another search was conducted on Friday morning and six more bodies were recovered. We cannot identify them. It is sad.”

    The Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Iniruo Wills, could not be reached for comments, but a source from the ministry said the governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, had been intimated of the development.

    The Police Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Butswat Asinim, confirmed the incident but said it occurred at about 4 pm.

    It was gathered that the charred remains of the victims had been deposited in an undisclosed morgue.

  • One dies, others injured as boat explodes

    One dies, others injured as boat explodes

    •Another electrocuted

    A man, Emmanuel Omu, was yesterday confirmed dead, and several others injured when a boat exploded in Lagos.

    Although the explosion was said to have occurred on Friday, the body was recovered yesterday by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) officials.

    The boat, belonging to an Oil and Gas company, was said to have caught fire after its engine exploded while trying to refill gasoline at Capital Oil Jetty on Victoria Island, Lagos.

    It was learnt that most of the boat’s passengers were rescued by volunteers immediately and taken to hospitals on Lagos Island.

    A relation of the deceased, Sunday Ezugha, told The Nation on telephone that they had been looking for him since the explosion occurred but could not find him. He said the explosion occurred between 7.45 and 8am last Friday.

    Ezugha accused the boat owners of abandoning the victims, adding that all efforts to reach them since the mishap had been unsuccessful.

    NEMA’s Southwest spokesman Ibrahim Farinloye said the agency only got the information after a report was made on Sunday.

    In another development, a 30-year-old man simply identified as Raphael was yesterday electrocuted at 20, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja.

    The victim was said to be doing some plumbing work on top of the building at the instance of the company occupying the premises before the incident.

    The director, State Fire Service, Rasaq Fadipe, said the electrocution may have been caused by a naked wire.

    He said: “We used our ladder to bring him down, but unfortunately, he was already dead. He was doing some plumbing work on top of the building when the incident occurred. We also attended to four fire cases on Saturday night.”

  • Keshi explodes: Attitude, key for Eagles’ shirt

    Keshi explodes: Attitude, key for Eagles’ shirt

    Stephen Keshi has said attitude is one of the key criteria that will determine who makes his final 23-man squad.

    “The character of the players, the ability to get along with other players and, of course, their ability to play the game too,” Keshi told KickOffNigeria.com.

    “Because in a tournament where you are going away for six weeks, you need that oneness, that togetherness, mutual respect for one another, that team spirit that will carry us to the final stages.”

    He also pointed to the ability to fit into different positions as critical.

    “Yeah, because you never know what is going to happen during the game. You might want a player to fit into a different position.

    “And that is what is good in this team because we have multiple players that can play in different positions and they will play it well.”

    Despite saying earlier that he has an idea of the final 23, Keshi admitted that it will still be a difficult choice to make.

    “It will be difficult because all these boys are good and it will be a tough choice to make. So far, these kids out here have given us everything, so to let go now is a problem. But we have to do what we have to do.”

    Keshi is expected to name his final squad today.

  • NNPC petrol tanker explodes in Ibadan

    NNPC petrol tanker explodes in Ibadan

    A petrol tanker belonging to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mega Station on the Iwo-Ojoo road in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, yesterday exploded on its premises.

    The explosion occurred around 1:35pm when the tanker was off-loading 33,000 litres petrol.

    This is the second time a tanker has exploded on the premises of the Mega Station.

    Fire-fighters, who arrived on the scene with three vehicles, put out the fire after two and a half hours.

    Men of the Joint Task Force, Operation Burst, and policemen from Kajorepo and Akobo in Akinyele Local Government Area were on the scene.

    Motorists in Akobo, General Gas and Bashorun diverted to alternative routes. Schools in the area closed early.

    Although NNPC officials were reluctant to talk to our correspondent, one of them, who pleaded anonymity, said the incident may have been caused by carelessness on the part of those off-loading the tanker.