15 Feared Dead, 50 Hospitalised as Gas Explosion Rocks Lafia

 

 

  

A gas explosion at a filling station, Natson Petroleum Nigeria Limited in Lafia, Nasarawa State has been reported to have left about 15 persons dead while over 50 other severely burnt and rushed to some hospitals in Lafia on Monday.

The cause of the explosion, according a source around the filling station, was due to leakage of gas from one of the reservoirs which caught the attention of two motorists who, when attempting to run away from eminent danger, collided and went into the flames.

Consequently, nine vehicles, including two fuel tankers, eight motor cycles and three tricycles, were caught in the web of the inferno and burnt down with the occupants.

Meanwhile, the casualty unit of the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital

(DASH) in Lafia was littered with burnt bodies of victims of the gas explosion as medical personnel of the hospital battled to save their lives.

This was even as sympathisers thronged to the hospital premises to catch a glance of the horrific incident as victims of the inferno were conveyed in by officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission FRSC).

When journalists spoke to one of the sympathisers, Ibrahim

Mushasha, at the entrance of the casualty unit of the DASH on his observation, he said so far over 50 burnt persons have been conveyed into the unit for urgent medication to save their lives, even as others were rushed to some private hospitals in the state capital.

He said:  "They were brought in unconsciously naked as their bodies were burnt as they struggle in the anguish.

"However, we are yet to ascertain the number of those who died in the inferno as the dead bodies were still been counted.

"Some of the victims were caught up in the inferno as they were plying the Lafia-Abuja road, especially students of the Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia, who were on their way to school for lectures, as well as other persons travelling on that road as at the time of the gas explosion.”

A female medical worker attending to the victims at the casualty unit of the hospital declined comment on the number of casualties so far conveyed into the casualty unit for treatment, when our

correspondent sought to know the number.

She however said the immediate concern of officials of the hospital personnel was to save life first.

Also, a security officer from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence

Corps (NSCDC) on duty at the casualty unit declined comment that it was only personnel from the casualty unit that could talk to the media on that explosion and its consequences.