At least four people were killed when an explosion set a ship ablaze as it was being repaired in Lagos, Nigerian port police said today.
Fire fighters battled for hours to contain the inferno yesterday, the independent
Comet
newspaper reported.
A Nigerian Ports Authority Police official said four bodies had been found but police not been able to search the ship by this morning. The newspaper said the number of casualties could be much higher.
The ship, Real Progress, had been moored for repairs by the jetty in Lagos's Ijora area for 10 weeks and work was expected to be completed next week, the newspaper reported.
Police said they were still investigating the cause of the explosion. The newspaper said petrol was being pumped onto the ship through a pipe.
