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.
An eyewitness, who did not identify himself, told
PUNCH Metro that the vehicle was on top speed
and was descending the Eko Bridge when it hit
a culvert and somersaulted.
He said, “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.



http://www.punchng.com/metro-plus/baby-four-others-die-in-lagos-fire-disasters/

.