Nigeria

Deadly pipeline explosion near Lagos

Article published on the 2008-05-16 Latest update 2008-05-16 09:40 TU

Survivors search for family members as the fire continues to burn.
(Photo : Reuters)

An oil pipeline in the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria's largest city, exploded Thursday, causing at least 100 deaths, the Red Cross reports, although Nigerian officials neglected to cite any figures. Survivors and rescue-workers told RFI about the chaos that was caused.

The explosion was caused when an earth mover accidentally crashed into a pipeline near a primary school.

Lagos citizen Grace Abijola told RFI that she heard the blast, and could do nothing but duck and run.

"I was doing my sewing and I just heard this sound, bah. The moment I turned back, I saw that everyone got exploded. I picked up my baby and I was just running. It was this heat…", Abijola said.

When firefighers and Red Cross workers arrived at the scene, they found large numbers of dead, with many other people suffering serious burns.

"Our members right now, they are moving around inside the houses, because there are a lot of people who have suffered first degree, second degree and third degree burns," Igeola Dimeji, a Red Cross official at the scene, told RFI. "There are about 200 people dead ... children are involved because there's a school nearby. The fire caught them up and a lot of people ran for their lives,"

The fires were brought under control as darkness fell, though they were not extinguished and continued to burn throughout the night.

A final tally of casualties and property damage is expected Friday.