About eight business outlets were affected on Sunday following a gas explosion at Kubwa in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The incident occurred at about 6am near Liberty Junction, along Arab Road, after a Toyota 4Runner reportedly lost control and crashed into a cooking gas outlet where several cylinders were stored.
A resident, Monday Lucky, who runs a business along the road, said the vehicle was approaching the junction when the driver lost control and rammed into the gas outlet.
He said it was unclear whether the driver had been travelling against traffic or had veered into the opposite lane before losing control.
According to Lucky, volunteers rescued the driver, his wife and their child from the vehicle. He said the woman sustained a minor injury to her knee and was taken to hospital with the others in a commercial tricycle.
Lucky said flames broke out several minutes after the crash.
He explained that volunteers initially stopped traffic in both directions to keep vehicles away from the area, but a commercial tricycle operator reportedly ignored the warning and drove through the scene, after which the fire erupted.
The resident said about three nearby shops had people sleeping inside when the crash occurred, but everyone managed to escape before the fire intensified.
He added that some shops had been locked from outside and had to be forced open to allow people to evacuate goods.
Another volunteer, Wada Ali, who lives in a nearby warehouse known as Gidan-Katsinawa, said he and other commercial tricycle operators were preparing to begin work when they were alerted to the fire.
“The flame was as high as a two-storey building,” he said.
Ali said the tricycle operators moved towards the scene and helped to control traffic while emergency responders worked to put out the fire.
Gas outlet owner counts losses
The owner of the gas outlet, Chioma Madueke, said she had taken delivery of 2.5 tonnes of cooking gas the previous day after the outlet had been without supplies for more than a week.
She said the delivery truck left the area at about 10pm on Saturday.
Madueke said about 30 cylinders were at the outlet, including 18 with a 50kg capacity and smaller cylinders of 12kg, 6kg and 3kg.
“Some belonged to my customers who planned to come and buy gas this morning,” she said.
She added that cylinder accessories, including regulators, control pumps and hose pipes, were also destroyed, with about three cartons of the items lost.
Madueke, who was visibly shaken when she visited the scene, said she could not account for most of the burnt cylinders because scavengers had reportedly removed them before she arrived.
She said several neighbouring businesses were also affected, including a cement retailer, a building materials shop, a confectionery and snacks outlet and about four other shops.
Madueke estimated the value of the cooking gas destroyed at nearly N4 million.
Witnesses said the explosion occurred in about three separate bursts. The blast destroyed the Toyota 4Runner involved in the crash and damaged a nearby fence belonging to a brewery depot.
Several manholes were reportedly shaken by the force of the explosion, while signboards around the junction were also brought down.
The police traffic post in the area was damaged and displaced, leaving debris scattered around the vicinity. Part of a nearby drainage channel was also damaged.
Emergency agencies deployed
The Divisional Police Officer of Byazhin Division, Kubwa, Chief Superintendent Musa Nyako, confirmed the incident and said police had yet to locate the driver of the vehicle.
He said the vehicle had no number plate and appeared to be unregistered.
Personnel from the Federal Fire Service, FCT Fire Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, National Emergency Management Agency and the Nigeria Police were deployed to the scene.
The emergency teams worked to extinguish the fire, prevent it from spreading to other businesses and secure the area.
The incident caused significant traffic congestion along the corridor as commuters, motorcyclists and residents gathered around the scene.
Several fire trucks were stationed along the road while emergency personnel extinguished the flames, cleared the wreckage and restricted access to the affected area.
The driver was reportedly taken to hospital for medical attention after the crash. His condition was not immediately known.
By the time of filing, normal activities were gradually returning to the area as emergency responders began leaving the scene.
