First, it was the explosion. No one in Lagos, where the explosion happened, knew exactly what had gone off so loudly around 9 am on Sunday, March 15, and while a lot of us were alarmed by it, some of us, particularly Lagos Islanders, didn’t hear anything.

This makes sense because the explosion happened around the Abule Ado area in Festac, Lagos Mainland.

I just witnessed an explosion this morning. I was at 23 road, Festac Town at that time. Everywhere around me shook so hard and my ears went numb in an instant.

Pls anyone living around 7th Avenue and Alakija area should be careful. I pray there are no casualties??

— Esther (@esthernek76) March 15, 2020

Several residential houses and a boarding school were affected by what was an implosion. Some said it was caused by a truck that ran its tires over a pipelineTwitter has been abuzz on this subject. Videos showing people running away from or taking cover from a thick, ascending smoke and news of students of Bethlehem Girls College being in the line of danger hasn’t stopped making the rounds.

After hours of speculations, theories, and presumptions, definitive information around the explosion has long since emerged and quite honestly, the reports haven’t been pretty. To begin with, someone has been confirmed dead. Reverend Sister Henrietta Alokha, Principal of Bethlehem Girls College, who lost her life saving the students under her care.

Guys let’s like and retweet until late Rev. Sis. Henrietta is given a posthumous national award by the federal government .
She let go her own life for about 300 kids to live.
Lets celebrate her#festacexplosion rest in peace Tinubu Igbos pic.twitter.com/AgUoIYNzTX

— Epitome_lines (@DavidsonOffor) March 16, 2020

From infrastructural ineptitude to the possible harms the explosion might have caused, various iterations of the explosion have climbed steadily to the top of the Twitter trends. While many blamed the point of origin of the explosion on a vandalized pipeline, information received from officials of the Lagos State Fire Service, counters that speculation, as they say, it might have occurred in a factory located in the Abule Ado area. Fire incidents, explosions, and pipeline vandalism aren’t exactly news, yet they never stop happening, they never stop putting lives and properties in danger and sometimes taking those lives and destroying those properties.

UPDATE!!! The fire is still on. Although it is contained in a hole has you see here, it hasn’t been put out yet. #festacexplosion #abuleado pic.twitter.com/nWoXC22RDW

— Olalekan Olafusi (@black_able) March 16, 2020

The Lagos state government has responded with condolences toward the lives and properties lost and videos of governor Jide Sawanolu visiting the scene have surfaced. Reports on this devastating event are still emerging and it looks like it might remain a relevant conversation on the virtual space for a long time.

The Lagos State government has described the loss of innocent lives in Abule Ado, which brought grief to numerous families on Sunday, as sad@jidesanwoolu @drobafemihamzat @lasemasocial #LASG #ForAGreaterLagos pic.twitter.com/0Q6wyxtdnU

— The Lagos State Govt (@followlasg) March 16, 2020

Nelson C.J

Nelson C.J is a culture writer with works in The New York Times, Xtra Magazine, OkayAfrica, Black Youth Project, AfroPunk, and a few other spaces. You can find him saving dog pictures on Twitter.