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News > Nigeria

9 People Killed In Gas Cylinder Explosion In Nigeria

  • Authorities direct search and rescue operations after the gas explosion, Kano, Nigeria, May 16, 2022.

    Authorities direct search and rescue operations after the gas explosion, Kano, Nigeria, May 16, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/ @yenisafakEN

Published 17 May 2022
Opinion

The National Emergency Management Agency indicated that the number of fatalities may increase in the coming days because search and rescue operations at the incident place have not yet finished.

On Tuesday, nine Nigerians died after a gas cylinder explosion led to the collapse of a building close to a market in the Sabon Gari neighborhood in Kano state. 

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The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) responders pulled the bodies from the rubble during search and rescue operations at the incident site. The Agency spokesperson Manzo Ezekiel indicated that the number of fatalities may increase in the coming days because search and rescue operations have not yet finished.

Parents rushed to remove their children at a nearby school after hearing news of the blast, which hopefully did not harm any of the pupils.

Eyewitnesses told local media that they saw a suicide bomber set off a bomb at the blast scene. However, Kano's Police Commissioner Sama'ila Shu'aibu Dikko insisted that this information was mischievous.

"We were at the scene with our experts. We recovered a lot of chemicals inside the welding workshop. It was a gas cylinder explosion," Dikko said and denied all cover-up allegations.

He also asked citizens to stay calm, stressing the Police are investigating to know all the incident details. Substandard cooking usage, welding gas cylinders, and exposure to flame in densely populated areas have led to previous mass explosions in Nigeria.

For instance, in Ogun State, seven people were killed in gas-prompted explosions last year. Since most of the explosions were caused by welding gas, State authorities announced a ban on its use.

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