LAGOS — A seven-month-old baby was killed on Tuesday after a gas explosion ripped through a retail gas shop in the Egan area of Igando, Lagos State.
The incident occurred around 1 p.m. at Niyi Bus Stop in the Modina area of the community.
The explosion triggered a fire that engulfed the gas shop and the hairdressing salon beside it. The deceased was the child of an apprentice at the hairdressing salon, who had been playing inside the gas shop when the explosion occurred.
“The explosion happened around 1 p.m. and affected the hairdressing salon beside the gas shop. A seven-month-old baby, who was the child of one of the apprentices at the salon, was playing in the gas shop alongside a teenager, said to be the daughter of the gas shop owner, when the explosion occurred,” an eyewitness explained.
Efforts by neighbours to rescue the toddler were hampered by the intensity of the fire. The teenager sustained severe burns to her legs while escaping.
“The baby tried to crawl out, but the fire became too intense for anyone to move close enough to rescue the child. That was how the baby got burnt to death. The teenager also sustained burns on both legs while escaping. Both the gas shop and the hairdressing salon were completely destroyed by the fire,” another resident reported.
The toddler’s mother collapsed after the incident as residents rushed to revive her.
Although residents speculated that the intense afternoon heat might have contributed to the incident, officials had yet to determine the cause of the explosion.
Emergency responders from the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service had yet to arrive at the scene as of the time of filing.
The spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Abimbola Adebisi, had yet to respond to calls and a text message seeking confirmation.