Four burnt in Ibadan gas leakage explosion

Four persons were severely burnt in Ibadan on Monday when leakages from a gas distribution company, Hephzibah Petroleum Limited, caught fire. Three vehicle and a motorcycle were also involved in the accident.

According to an eyewitness, the accident occurred around 3:00 pm when staffers of the gas plant were transferring gas content from a mobile tanker to a stationary taker within the premises.

The gas leaked and scaled the fence to inflict injuries on its victims on the road.

One of the eyewitnesses, Ismaila Jimoh, told WITNESS NIGERIA that he was walking the road when he suddenly noticed that a commercial vehicle some meters away had caught fire.

“I rushed down to rescue the victims and discovered that one of them, Mufutau Oyelami, was even known to me,” he said.

Oyelami was a passenger in the trapped cab in which the driver was also severely burnt. A motorcyclist and his passenger were also caught in the inferno, which lasted few minutes before being put out.

All the victims were admitted at the nearby Lad Medical Centre except Oyelami, who was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit of the University College Hospital due to the severity of his case.

Men of the anti-bomb unit of the state police command were seen at the scene of the incident on Monday when our reporter visited.

The carcass of a Volkswagen Jeta car, belonging to the company, which was burnt in the incident, was also seen within the premises.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Ilobabafor, told journalists that the command got to know about the incident through a radio signal from its Challenge Divisional Office, about two structures away from the compound where it happened.

She described the inferno as a mere accident, dismissing the possibility of a terror trait

Ilobanafor gave the items affected as a Toyota Corrola car, a Volkswagen Jeta car, a cab and a motorcycle.

The managing director of the gas company, Modupe Ademilua, also described the inferno as an accident.

While informing journalists that the company would be fully responsible for the medical bills of the victims, she said she was grateful to God that the impact was not more than it was.