The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouqhas expressed shock at the gas cylinder explosion which left many people dead at Aba Road in the Sabon Gari area of Kano State, North-west Nigeria.
Farouq sympathised with the victims and the Kano State government, describing the incident as painful and calamitous.
She said; “this is a tragedy. A gas explosion, a collapsed building, the death of many victims and persons still trapped in the rubbles… this is a very sad incident. I sympathize with the families of the dead and the government as well.
“The spate of explosions in the country recently is alarming and we call on the appropriate authorities to do something quickly to stop further explosions and building collapse in the country.”
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency under the Ministry also announced that a building collapsed as a result of the explosion while nine dead bodies have so far been recovered from the rubbles of the collapsed building close to the explosion site.
The Director General of NEMA, Mustapha Ahmed has mobilised excavators and coordinating rescue operations at the site of the incident with the State SEMA, the Nigerian Red Cross, the Police, Civil Defense Corps and other disaster responders, to ensure that victims trapped in the rubbles were rescued and taken to the hospital for treatment.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
