15 die in Nigerian gas explosion

At least 15 people have died and many others have been injured after an explosion at a gas processing plant in Lagos on Sunday. 

According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the explosion was caused when a truck hit gas cylinders piled up at the plant.

The plant is located near an oil pipeline, in the Abule Ado area of Lagos. The impact of the explosion prompted the state oil company to halt operations on the pipeline. 

A fire broke out following the explosion, damaging over 50 buildings, including a school in the neighbourhood that accommodates around 250 students. 

An official for the Nigerian Red Cross told reporters that some students at the school had been injured, as rescue workers struggled to remove rubble from the building. 

Local resident Abibola Ayo told reporters that he heard the blast at his house, 2 miles away from the scene. 

Photo: AFP