/ 10 May 2000

FIRE DESTROYS LAGOS AIRPORT

A FIRE has ripped through the domestic wing of Lagos airport, destroying dozens of buildings and property worth millions of dollars. Shocked officials said on Wednesday that the fire broke outin the early hours of the morning, during a fierce electrical storm, and first indications suggested it might have been sparked by a bolt of lightning, airport staff told journalists. No lives were lost in the blaze but dozens of buildings were razed to the ground, they said, standing amid the wreckage of some of the burned-out buildings. Aviation Minister Olusegun Agagu, accompanied by Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu, visited the scene of the fire and ordered staff to work as speedily as possible to restore flight operations to normal. Most of the main terminal was destroyed in the blaze.