A gas explosion rocked Kubwa, a satellite town in Abuja, on Sunday morning after a vehicle crashed into a gas retail outlet near Liberty Junction, damaging at least nine shops and disrupting traffic, multiple reports said.
The incident occurred at about 6:15 a.m., when the vehicle hit the gas station and sparked a fire that spread to a row of shops and nearby containers, according to BusinessDay and Premium Times. The vehicle was completely burnt, leaving only a badly damaged frame.
Residents and passersby rescued the car driver and a child who were inside the vehicle. The injured driver was taken to a medical facility for treatment, BusinessDay and Premium Times reported. BusinessDay said the full extent of the driver’s injuries was not immediately known at the time of filing.
Eyewitnesses described thick smoke and large flames as traders and residents fled, leaving goods behind. Premium Times, citing a Daily Trust account, quoted a resident of Dantata Estate, about two kilometres from the scene: “The explosion was loud enough to wake people from their sleep, and we could feel the buildings shaking. Everyone was wondering what had happened.” Premium Times linked that quote to Daily Trust.
Emergency responders were deployed to contain the blaze and secure the area. BusinessDay listed the Federal Fire Service, Federal Capital Territory Fire Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, National Emergency Management Agency and the Nigeria Police among agencies that attended the scene. Firefighters worked for several hours to extinguish the fire and to prevent it from spreading to other businesses, BusinessDay reported.
The explosion caused heavy traffic congestion along the corridor as motorists and commercial motorcyclists slowed and security cordons limited movement. Fire trucks occupied parts of the road while emergency personnel cleared the wreckage. BusinessDay said normalcy gradually returned as the scene was cleared and traffic eased.
Premium Times noted the blaze quickly consumed nearby shops and shelter stands, and that the blast shook buildings beyond the immediate area. The outlet also said that since January there have been about five notable fire outbreaks in Abuja, including industrial and market fires as well as petrol station explosions, a trend it described as preventable.
Authorities had not released a full damage assessment or an official casualty toll as of the latest reports.
Featured image: Tyler1555 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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