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12
Killed In Nigerian Ammunition Dump Explosion, 140 Drowned
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| Huge
fireballs lit up the night sky in Lagos |
With
additional reporting by IOL correspondent in Nigeria, Sulaiman Osho
ABEOKUTA,
NIGERIA, Jan. 28 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Twelve people were
killed, in the city of Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria and the commercial
nerve center of the country, when an ammunition dump at Ikeja Army cantonment
explosed Sunday evening. An additional 140 people were drowned fleeing the arms
dump blasts. The final death toll is expected to be far higher.
The
explosion occurred when a fire at a street market of the cantonment spread to
the ammunition dump, causing blasts that sent red balls of fire into the sky at
about 8.00 p.m. local time. The blast continued to explode sporadically for over
an hour, shaking buildings at the city center.
A
resident in the area, Debo Alder Okunola, told IOL that the blasts were severe
as they could be seen from different parts of Lagos. He added that many people
were feared dead by the explosion. Residents in the area were seen fleeing for
fear of being enveloped in the blasts.
Okunola
hinted that thousands of Muslim pilgrims being airlifted from the Lagos
international airport may be delayed as the blasts were close to the airport.
The
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, confirmed that the
explosions were caused by a fire incident.
He
allayed fears of Nigerians of a possible coup d'etat, noting that the
explosions had been noticed only at the Ikeja Army cantonment. Okiro advised
residents to move away from the danger zone while concerned authorities move in
to rescue victims.
The
massive fire which ripped through an army barracks and armory Sunday was
extinguished early Monday, according to witnesses.
Crowds
were gathered outside the main entrance to the army barracks in the Ijeja
district but were not being allowed in or out.
Many
people are feared dead in the inferno but there was no official toll in the
hours after fire sent hundreds of missiles careering into residential
neighborhoods and shooting huge balls of flame into the night sky.
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