Eye Witnesses Lament Gruesome Deaths Of Lagos Gas Explosion Victims

By Bukola Kayode

Mummy Temi, a local herbal concoction seller has explained how some victims of the Ladipo Market gas explosion died.

Mummy Temi who shed tears for the dead, said a 24-year-old gas retailer who lost his life at the recent gas explosion at Ladipo Market was too kind to have met a violent death.

The gas explosion occurred on Tuesday morning on Ojekunle Street in the Ladipo Area of Mushin, Lagos State.

“Sodiq was selling gas for one of his customers when tragedy struck. I am not related to him but he is a very good boy.  He is a young boy and should be about 24-years-old. They do not sleep here but he came early today to sell gas for his customer.

“I cannot believe that Sodiq is dead, not in this way. He was still a young boy, a very lanky guy. He was someone that everyone loved because of his wonderful nature. I sell local herbs and if he does not see me, he would always come to my shop to check on me. He was such a nice young man”, Mummy Temi was quoted as saying.

Punch reports that Sodiq was filling an acetylene cylinder when the explosion occurred due to the fact that someone was making a telephone call around the vicinity and a lady, Mama Emma, was frying pastries. These factors led to the explosion the paper further reports.

Another aggrieved witness, Taiwo Abiodun, a mechanic at No 29, Ojekunle, Ladipo, with teary eyes told the Punch how the tragic event occurred.

He said, “Sodiq is one of the boys that sell gas here; he is a very good boy. At 8 am, there was an explosion in our area; someone was making calls while another person was trying to transfer gas from one cylinder to another. More so, there was a leakage in one of the cylinders. Coincidentally, there is a woman that fries pastries around that area, Mama Emma, who was going about her daily business. Due to these factors, the gas exploded. Many people died due to this incident.

“Although the authorities stated that five people died, the number of bodies I saw being evacuated is about six people. There is Sodiq, the woman who was frying her pastries, there are about three Hausa men and a boy who was an apprentice to a mechanic at the scene of the incident, his name was Farouq. I know that six people died and about eight people were injured but they were immediately rushed to the hospital. He was a very lovely fellow and did not deserve to die this way”, Abiodun was quoted as saying.