2 die as fire razes shanty in Lekki

isaac dachen

March 21, 2016 4:20 PM

Two people have been reported dead in a fire disaster that razed a shanty town in Lekki.

The burnt shanty

Barely two weeks after an uncompleted five-storey building collapsed in the Lekki area of Lagos State, killing more than 30 people, another disaster has been recorded in the area as a

Read: "Collapsed Lekki Building (Update): Death toll rises to 30 in building collapse"

According to the Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Razak Fadipe, the fire started at about 3am and was ignited when a lady was preparing a meal in her room.

The remains of the shanty town

Photo Credit: Naij

“The shanties spread to about four plots of land. We got information that the fire started at about 3.15am. Information we got was that a young lady was cooking in one of the shanties and there was a fuel container nearby, which ignited the fire and spread to other parts.

It took us about four hours to put out the fire. My men did not know there was anybody inside while they were fighting . We met the man and woman in two different locations roasted after we finally put out the fire."

The remains of the shanty town

Photo Credit: Naij

However, some residents say the fire was started when a generating set exploded before it spread to the other structures.

“The fire started at about 2am in the morning when many were still asleep. It started after one generator exploded. The two people that died were still asleep when the fire started and before they could get to know what was happening, they were already burnt to death.”

Read: "Collapsed Lekki Building (Update): Mother, child, 17 confirmed dead in crumbled 5-storey house"

The remains of the shanty town

Photo Credit: Naij

But another resident had a different take on the cause of the fire.

“The fire started very early in the morning, some say a generator caused the fire but information I gathered was that a woman was cooking in a her room and unfortunately, she was unaware of the fuel container beside her. I lost over N3 million from this fire incident, I don’t know where to start from.”

isaac dachen