2 Children Killed in Lagos Gas Explosion

Matilda Omonaiye/

Two children were reportedly killed while 23 others sustained injuries when leakage from a gas cylinder shop on Adule street in Ajegunle area of Lagos resulted in an explosion in early hours of today.

Director-General of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed the incident in a statement.

He said the agency’s officials who were at the scene of the incident, discovered that a gas cylinder store had exploded as a result of leakage.

“Our further investigations at the scene revealed that the fire ignited as a result of a phone call by an unidentified resident.

“This spread to other nearby shops and a bungalow behind the shops. Unfortunately, two children (a male and a female) lost their lives and there were other 23 casualties who sustained multiple burns.

“All the casualties have been evacuated to the Burnt Unit, Gbagada General Hospital, Lagos for treatment,” Oke-Osanyintolu said.

He added that the remains of one of the two bodies, identified as Damilare Afolabi, had been bagged by the LASEMA Response Team (LRT) and handed over to the family.