The residents of many of the structures damaged by the gas explosion that occurred on Saturday in the Ita-Oshin neighborhood of the Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State were instructed to evacuate on Sunday by Governor Dapo Abiodun.
The governor stated that the evacuation will enable integrity tests to be performed on the impacted structures while conducting an on-the-spot evaluation of the harm done to nearby companies and assets.
Abiodun further pledged that owners of destroyed property would receive compensation, and that the state would pay the hospital bills of incident victims.
According to a News report, a gas tanker explosion on the Abeokuta-Sango-Lagos Expressway resulted in the burning of six cars, six injuries, and at least one verified death.
The gas tanker experienced brake failure, which caused it to lose control and strike the sidewalk, according to Florence Okpe, a spokesman for the Federal Road Safety Corps’ Ogun State Sector Command.
Okpe said, “The crash occurred at about 1610 hrs, involving a tanker laden with gas. The number of people involved was six and all male adults; two got injured but unfortunately, one person died from the fire incident, which is the motor boy who was trapped.”
Governor Abiodun questioned the safety of trucks transporting compressed natural gas around the nation while speaking on Sunday at the exact location of the incident.
He said: “As a responsible state government, our emergency management team has taken stock of all those businesses, and residences that have been affected by this unfortunate incident.
“What has happened yesterday throws up a lot of questions, far-ranging questions. The issues around safety, regulation, roadworthiness of the modes of transportation, and issues around the required regulatory oversight for the entire industry must be looked into.
“Are these issues happening at the same speed as the industry is progressing? This would allow us to better understand and answer those questions.
“I have directed that one or two buildings be evacuated until our regulatory agency that is in charge does the required integrity test on those buildings, to ensure that they are safe for our people to continue to live in there.
“All those affected will be compensated; all those who are in the hospital, we will take over their treatment.”
Governor Abiodun tasked the Nigerian Standards Organization to keep up with the industry’s rapid evolution, noting that it was imperative that the organization make sure that trucks’ CNG tanks complied with regulations.
In the meantime, Gasco Marine, the gas firm whose truck triggered the explosion, has committed to conducting a comprehensive inquiry into the event.
In its statement on Sunday, Gasco Marine said, “We are saddened by this unfortunate event. Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family of the deceased, and the affected individuals whose properties were affected. We are doing everything we can to support them during this difficult time.
“At Gasco Marine, the safety and well-being of employees and the communities we operate in are of utmost priority.
“We also take this opportunity to assure our stakeholders that we strictly adhere to all safety standards. We remain committed to continuously strengthening our health and safety policies to prevent such unfortunate incidents from occurring in the future.”
The emergency response teams, which included members of the Nigerian Police Force, the FRSC, the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Control Agency, and Ogun State government representatives, were praised by the corporation for their fast arrival and assistance.
“We at Gasco Marine have also activated our emergency response protocols and are cooperating fully with relevant authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.
“We will continue to update all stakeholders as the investigation progresses. Our focus remains on supporting the affected families and ensuring the highest levels of safety across our operations,” the statement added.
