100 killed in Lagos pipeline explosion

LAGOS (AFP) - An oil pipeline explosion killed about 100 people on Thursday in a northern suburb of Nigeria's biggest city Lagos, the Red Cross said.

"About 100 people were confirmed dead in the explosion. We have also evacuated about 20 others to the Ikeja general hospital," Red Cross official Sule Mekudi told AFP from the scene.

"Most of the evacuees were seriously burnt," he added.

Abdulsalam Muhammad, a spokesman for the country's national emergency agency, said earlier that 10 people had been killed and at least 36 people rescued and taken to a nearby military hospital.

Rescuers were beginning to leave the Ijegun scene as darkness set in, Abdulsalam said.

"We are just leaving the scene now. The fire has drastically reduced. We will also discuss (how) to improve on our level of preparedness against future occurrence," he said.