A Catholic priest lost his life while making attempt to get
students out of their dormitory at Bethlehem Girls High School, Abule Ado,
Lagos, on Sunday, according to a witness.
The school was among the affected buildings in the explosion
which rocked the community. Over 20 students were said to have been trapped in the
dormitory .
Residents said they encountered difficulty trying to get the
students out and the priest who had also come to lend a hand died in the
process.
“He died trying to save the lives of those students,” one of
the residents who gave his name simply as Delight said.
The identity of the priest has not been made known, but
residents said he worshipped at a nearby Catholic church.
Delight said the explosion which happened around 8am came
with a thunderous sound that shook buildings and structures.
“The next thing we saw was that some parts of Bethlehem
school had collapsed, and people started running,” he said.
“We called fire service and at first they couldn’t locate
where the incident happened. Then another bystander volunteered his phone to
call them, and when they eventually arrive but with a small truck. They soon
found out they needed more firepower to put out the fire and they called for
backup.”
The small truck, however,
had helped clear a path for the volunteers to get to the boarding school
where they rescued some students and staff.
According to Delight, about 15 bodies were evacuated, and
some volunteers who incurred several injuries have been taken to the hospital.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had said
over 50 buildings were destroyed in the explosion.
The agency also said the explosion was not caused by
pipeline vandalism.
As of 5pm on Sunday, NEMA and other relevant officials were
still in the area checking for casualties.
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