On 15 May 2008 a pipeline explosion occurred in the community of

Ijegun The village of Ijegun is a northern suburban community in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria. The area is home to oil tank farms. History On May 15, 2008, Ijegun was devastated by a massive explosion, killing over 100 peopl ...

, a suburb north of

Lagos Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

. The explosion took place after a bulldozer struck an

oil pipeline Pipeline transport is the long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas through a system of pipes—a pipeline—typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countr ...

. The

Lagos police The Lagos Police Command is the Lagos State branch of the Nigerian Police Force. It is responsible for law enforcement and crime prevention in the state. The commissioner of this command is often appointed by the Inspector-General of Police. ...

have stated that the explosion appears to be an accident, and not the work of thieves, as in past pipeline explosions near

. Construction workers accidentally broke an underground pipeline from which fuel started to spill out; moments later an explosion occurred. The fire started from the Isolo end of Ijegun, which spread to surrounding homes and schools. It reportedly spread through buildings with occupants inside. The Ijegun Primary School was also damaged. More than 15 homes and more than 20 vehicles were burned in the fire.

Firefighters A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

and volunteers used sand and water in attempts to extinguish the fires. Forty minutes after the fire started,

NNPC NNPC Limited is a for profit oil company in Nigeria. Formerly a government-owned corporation, it was transformed from a corporation to a limited liability company in July 2022. NNPC Limited is the only entity licensed to operate in the country' ...

(Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) firefighters arrived on the scene. The

Lagos State Fire Service The Lagos State Fire Service is the statutory fire and rescue service for Lagos State. Established in 1972 by the Lagos State Law Cap.42 of 1972, it is primarily tasked with managing fire emergencies in Lagos State. The service is responsi ...

later arrived.

Deaths

Although the

Nigerian Emergency Management Agency Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

puts the current death toll at ten, the

Nigerian Red Cross The Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) was founded in 1960, and it has its headquarters in Abuja. It has over 500,000 volunteers and 300 permanent employees. The Nigerian Red Cross Society was established by an Act of Parliament in 1960 and beca ...

claims at least 100 people have died. Other accounts state that the number dead is 39, including school children.

AllAfrica.com AllAfrica is a website that aggregates news produced primarily on the African continent about all areas of African life, politics, issues and culture. It is available in both English and French and produced by AllAfrica Global Media, which has of ...

reports that the death toll is up to 43. The bodies were taken to the

Ikeja General Hospital Lagos State University Teaching Hospital popularly known as LASUTH is a state-owned teaching hospital in Lagos, Nigeria, attached to the Lagos State University. It is in Ikeja – the state's capital. LASUTH also shares structures with the ...

. A pregnant woman and her 4-year-old son were also among the dead. The

compiled names of the deceased and injured. They set up camps near the disaster as well. Local council and government officials claim that the actual death toll is much lower than what the

is claiming. Victims were taken to a hospital and are said to have been suffering from serious burns. It's believed that when the explosion occurred, gate men at the Ijegun Primary School initially locked the gates apparently to prevent the pupils from running into danger. But when the atmosphere became tense, the gate men and other staff were said to have run for their lives leaving everyone to their fate. At that point, students from Ijegun Comprehensive School who ran into the primary school premises were said to have jointly brought down the wall of the school to facilitate their escape. Most of them were trampled on. Eight out of sixteen pupils who were rushed to Corner Stone Hospital reportedly died on 15 May and another died a day later. Three residents were killed after being run over by vehicles whose drivers attempted to flee the fire zone.

References

External links

*http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004418253_nigeria16.html *http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article3949781.ece {{DEFAULTSORT:Ijegun Pipeline Explosion Explosions in 2008 Ijegun Pipeline Explosion, 2008 Ijegun Pipeline Explosion, 2008 Explosions in Nigeria Pipeline accidents 21st century in Lagos May 2008 events in Nigeria

Deaths

See also

References

External links