Eight persons were injured in a gas cylinder explosion in Ilorin, Kwara State capital on Saturday.

They included a gas attendant and seven students of the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin.

Spokesman of the State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, disclosed that the incident occurred at approximately 21:32 hours, at Destiny Villa, Dola Abimbola Street, Elekoyangan area, of Ilorin East Local Government, in the State.

“The firemen promptly departed from the station and upon arrival at the scene, they encountered a building with about 17 self-contained rooms fully ablaze.

“Four rooms were affected, and eight individuals sustained injuries. Despite the intense fire, the firefighters effectively contained and extinguished it through their skilled firefighting techniques.

“Upon investigation, it was revealed that a gas attendant at a nearby gas shop was refilling a gas cylinder positioned several meters above ground level.

“The cylinder fell and exploded, concurrently releasing gas from the charged hose used for refilling. This exacerbated the fire, resulting in injuries to seven Kwara State Polytechnic students and the gas attendant.”

The spokesman added that the fire incident destroyed property worth N14.6m.

In his reaction to the incident, Director of Kwara State Fire Service, Prince Falade John, dispatched his team to check on the affected students on Sunday.

The Director also urged the public to prioritize safety measures to prevent fire disasters.

 The Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) has said that nine bodies were recovered from a boat mishap that occurred in Shiroro Local Government Area of the state.

The Head of Relief and Rehabilitation in NSEMA, Alhaji Salihu Garba, disclosed this in an interview with the Newsmen in Minna on Sunday.

Newsmen recalls that ten persons were confirmed dead in a boat mishap that occurred on Thursday, November 16.

The victims, mostly traders, were reportedly conveying goods from Zongoru Community of Bassa Ward to Gijiwa, ahead of Friday market in Kuta, headquarters of Shiroro LGA, when the tragic incident happened.

At least 34 persons were said to be on board of which 10 allegedly lost their lives, while 22 were reportedly rescued by local divers.

Garba gave the names of the deceased to include Farida Muntari, Sharhabila Sagir, Bubakar Sadiq, Na’ima Ibrahim, Amina, Safaratu Ibrahim, Sadiq Ibrahim and Rafiya Yakubu.

He said that the agency had yet to identify two of the deceased persons, adding that all the deceased were from Zangoro.

He further said that there were 24 males and female adults and 10 male and female children in the boat when it capized.

Garba also said that a search operation was ongoing to recover the remaining bodies.

A boat conveying Ibi local government council of Taraba State residents capsized on Sunday.

The incident occurred in Anyeshi village near Benue State.

The mishap comes barely two weeks after a similar incident in the Karim-Lamido Local Government Area of the state, where over 50 passengers lost their lives

It would be recalled that a locally made boat conveying traders from Mayoranewo market in Ardo-Kola local government council of Taraba to Karim-Lamido council recently capsized in Binneri village in the state.

Confirming the accident, the Head of Local Government Administration, HOLGA, in Ibi council, Isa Mohammed, said over eight persons lost their lives.

Isa, who argued that the accident did not happen in Taraba but in neighbouring Benue, admitted that all the passengers on board were from the Ibi council.

The HOLGA, who could not ascertain the number of passengers on board at the time of the accident, warned the people of the council to desist from embarking on night voyages on waterways.

The passengers were said to have been heading to a nearby market in Anyeshi village around 4:30 p.m.

Some Ibi residents who spoke to NIGERIAN NEWSDIRECT admitted that most of the victims are from the council. “Though the incident took place in the nearby Benue State, I must confess to you that almost all the passengers are indigenes of Ibi local government council,” one of them said.