A petroleum products pipeline explosion and fire left at least 100 persons in a residential area of Nigeria's business capital in the south-west Lagos on Thursday according to DPA. The fire began when an excavator used by a construction firm broke the pipeline and an explosion ensued, said Moyo Anibaba, the head of the Lagos state-owned ambulance services, confirming the deaths. He said at least 40 other persons were seriously injured in the inferno. "Most of the victims died as a result of the stampede as they were attempting to escape from the area," he said. "At least 35 houses in the neighbourhood and several vehicles were burnt to ashes," Anibaba said.
