Many feared dead in Lagos blasts, large areas in flames

Many people are feared dead after a fire in the armoury of a military barracks in Nigeria’s main city Lagos, set off a series…

Many people are feared dead after a fire in the armoury of a military barracks in Nigeria’s main city Lagos, set off a series of explosions, sending up shells across the city and setting off large fires.

"We do not have any death toll yet, but it is going to be bad," said a police spokesman who asked not to be named.

The death toll was expected to be high because the armoury was close to a heavily populated barracks where both soldiers and their families live.

The fire started in a street market used by the soldiers close to the armoury, police and army sources said.

Lagos' international and domestic airports are also nearby.

The incident was expected to put a halt to flights in or out of Lagos.

Witnesses told AFPthat dozens of factories in the Oshodi area near the barracks were in flames and a massive fire reached up into the night sky over the area.

AFP

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