Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) converted vehicle has exploded, causing multiple injuries and destruction of properties within the vicinity of the incident.
The incident was reported to have occurred at one of the CNG stations, NIPCO CNG station, located at Eyean, Auchi Road, Edo State.
It was reported that many sustained injuries and vehicles within the vicinity of the incident were damaged. But, as of this report, no death was recorded.
The explosion reportedly occurred during the refueling of the station wagon’s CNG cylinder vehicle.
It could be recalled that the growing use of CNG in Nigeria emerged as a cost-saving measure in response to rising petroleum prices. However, following this incident, concerns about the human safety of converted CNG vehicles have been raised.
Many netizens questioned the safety of individuals converting their vehicles to CNG.
One X user, @Otunbakush1 stated, “I will keep saying it, if u like abuse me, as long as the vehicle Manufacturers didn’t attach the CNG features to the vehicle pls and pls don’t convert ur car, that’s a moving bomb, this happened at Edo state this morning, CNG converted vehicle exploded.”
In response to the incident, the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) via their X platform, clarified that the vehicle involved in the incident was illegally converted to CNG, leading to its explosion during gas refueling.
“The Presidential CNG Initiative notes the unfortunate incident that involved an illegally modified vehicle at a NIPCO CNG Station at Ikpoba Hill in Benin City on Wednesday, October 16, 2024.
“The PCNGI commiserate with those injured in this avoidable incident, and thankful that no lives were lost. The PCNGI also note that safe handling of all hydrocarbon is critical to their safe use. A close examination of the cylinder in question in Benin City shows it was welded and modified and not an approved for use for CNG. The police, regulatory authorities and management of NIPCO are undertaking a painstaking investigation of the incident and we are coordinating with them,” PCNGI started.
The PCNGI emphasised the importance of ethical compliance with safety regulations and urged the public to patronise only CNG-accredited conversion centres to avert further tragic occurrences.