Old MMIA terminal evacuated over fire incident
Sopuruchi Onwuka
A section of the old terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, was evacuated early Wednesday following a fire outbreak suspected to have been sparked off by faulty electrical fittings.
The Oracle Today received video recording of fire fighting at the airport after passengers and airport workers had been asked to leave the building part of which is now gutted by fire.
It is not clear whether the terminal is currently still in use after incident as authorities of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) were unable to respond to enquiries sent to them by reporters earlier in the day.
It would be recalled that the new Minister of Aviation, Mr. Festus Keyamo, had announced that the terminal is scheduled to be shut down by the end of the month due to poor state of facilities.
The 40 year old terminal, according to Mr. Keyamo, is overdue for rehabilitation.
The cause of the fire incident is aid to be the subject of investigation even as early shift workers stated that it was sparked off from electric fittings in the terminal building.
Fire fighters could be seen around the building on Wednesday while emergency workers with the Aerodrome Rescue and Fire-fighting Service (ARFFS) of FAAN tried to quench the fire and manage human movement at the facility.
In a message titled, Fire Outbreak at MMIA, a worker in one of the numerous service agencies in the terminal building declared in the morning that “all hell broke loose this morning as a huge inferno was sighted at the MMIA which was said to have erupted through a faulty cable.
“All passengers/staff were asked to evacuate the building while the Lagos State Fire Service was on hand to complement that of FAAN. We thank these professionals for their swift response.”
There was no official statement from FAAN yet over the incident which kept many workers and travelers worried about the integrity if flight schedules.
