Ibrahim Shuaibu
At least nine people yesterday died and several others injured after a gas explosion occurred at the Sabon Gari area of Kano State.
The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who visited the scene of the incident, commiserated with the victims.
Osinbajo was in the ancient city to meet with delegates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the party’s primary election, before the explosion occurred.
The explosion hit the business areas on Aba Road in Sabon Gari, Kano, where schools and houses around the area were affected.
It was gathered that a number of houses including Winners’ School adjacent to the point of the explosion were badly affected.
Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje said the state would take measures to regulate welding vocations in densely populated areas to avert future occurrence.
A resident of Sabon Gari area, Joseph Abiodun, who participated in the rescue of some of the victims confirmed that at least nine corpses were recovered.
“The explosion occurred around 10am, because there was no excavator immediately after the incident, we used hands and some light equipment to bring out the bodies,” Joseph said.
He confirmed that some chemicals were found in shops that were badly damaged by the explosion which were handed over to security personnel.
Pastor Mike Ajibola whose Church was a few meters away said over 50 children from nearby Winners School, Kano adjacent to the point of explosion were rescued with some sustaining injuries.
Also, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed that nine dead bodies had been recovered so far from the rubbles of a collapsed building beside a primary school following explosions from a gas cylinder at Aba Road in Sabon Gari area of Kano.
The Director General of the Agency, Mustapha Habib Ahmed was at the site of the incident and coordinated the rescue operations.
According to a statement by Mr. Ezekiel Manzo, obtained by THISDAY in Kano, the agency mobilised excavators being used for the rescue operations and said the NEMA team would ensure complete removal of the rubbles to retrieve all trapped persons.
The agency also revealed that 10 persons were rescued alive and two were discharged from the hospital after the treatment.
Ahmed instructed the NEMA rescue team to remain at the site until the conclusion of the rescue and to work together with security agencies and other response organisations present at the location.
