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.

READ MORE

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