A six-month-old baby boy and four other people lost their lives in two separate fire disasters in Lagos State on Saturday.
While the baby was burnt to death in the Ipaja area of the state around 8.30pm after his mother lit a candle, the other four victims lost their lives after a commercial bus had a lone accident in the Iponri area of the state
In the Ipaja incident, the six-month-old baby boy was said to be asleep on the bed when the candle lit by his mother and placed on top of the wardrobe, fell on the mattress, causing a fire around 9.35pm.
The incident happened in Shagari Estate, Mosan Okunola, in the Ipaja area of Lagos State.
The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, who blamed the incident on the carelessness of the baby’s mother, said the child’s father was away at the time of the incident.
He said, “The child’s father was not at home when it happened. It was the mother who lit a candle , placed it on top of the wardrobe and forgot it there. The candle burnt out and the six-months-old baby, which was on the bed, was burnt to death.
“Lagos residents must stop using candles to avoid such fire incidents. It is advisable for them to use rechargeable lamps.”
In the Iponri accident, a commercial bus with Lagos registration number, AKD 27 XA, and with nine passengers, burst into flames around Costain, Iponri area of the state.
While five people were rescued with injuries, four others were not as fortunate as they were burnt to death..
“It was around 12 noon. The bus was coming from the Lagos Island through the Eko Bridge. It was trying to descend the bridge inward Costain, but it was on high speed.
“Because of the speed, the driver lost control of the bus and it hit the culvert. It somersaulted several times and went up in flames.
“There were nine people in the vehicle. Out of the nine, five were injured, but four people were burnt to death.”
It was learnt that the police, officials of the Lagos State Emergency Service and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, were able to manage the situation.
While LASAMBUS conveyed the survivors to the Lagos State General Hospital on the Lagos Island, LASTMA managed the gridlock that resulted from the accident.
Policemen from the Iponri division were said to have taken the corpses to a mortuary.
The spokesperson for LASTMA, Mrs. Bola Ajao, confirmed the incident, adding that the prompt response of traffic officials reduced the number of casualties.
She said, “The vehicle burst into flames about five minutes after hitting the culvert. Those who died were the driver, the two passengers sitting with him in front and one other person sitting on the front row. They were all trapped immediately the accident happened and that was why they could not be rescued.”
The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service said firemen from the Sari-Iganmu division arrived the scene with 10,000 litres of water.
Fadipe said, “When we got the alert, we quickly mobilised our firefighters to the scene of the incident. But it was unfortunate that the four passengers could not be saved. People must learn to disembark a bus that the driver is speeding. The tragedy was preventable.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Kenneth Nwosu, said the police had yet to get the relatives of any of the victims.
No comments:
Post a Comment