The Hindu : International : Raging flames keep rescuers away from Lagos blast site

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006
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Raging flames keep rescuers away from Lagos blast site

Tragedy caused by poverty, ignorance and greed, says local leader

— PHOTO: AFP

INFERNO: A firefighter tries to put out the blaze at the site of a pipeline explosion in Lagos, Nigeria, on Tuesday.

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LAGOS (Nigeria): A ruptured gasoline pipeline in the heavily populated Abule Egba neighbourhood of Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria, burst into flames on Tuesday as people collected the fuel, leaving at least 200 persons dead.

Hundreds of bodies could be seen jumbled and fused together in the raging flames at the blast site.

Intense heat kept rescue workers back as smoke billowed over the area.

Witnesses said thieves broke into the pipeline after midnight and hundreds of men, women and children rushed in later to scoop up the fuel with jerry cans, plastic buckets and bags. It was unclear what ignited the gasoline.

``This was a preventable tragedy,'' said Joel Ogundere, whose home was next to the blast. ``It was poverty, ignorance and greed,'' said a local leader.

A senior official for the Nigerian Red Cross, Ige Oladimeji, said his workers had documented ``over 200 and still counting.'' — AP

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