The popular Bethlehem College, a boarding school for girls which is located at Abule Ado axis of Amuwo-Odofin was seriously hit by the explosion which happened on 15th March 2020.
According to source, the boarding school which houses more than hundred students was totally destroyed with almost all structures in the school razed to rubbles.
The Principal of Bethlehem Girls School, Rev Sister Henrietta Alokha, reportedly lost her life on her way to the hospital after selflessly rescuing most of the students after the aftermath of the explosion.
The explosion occurred during the Mass celebration at the school owned by the Catholic church at Abule-Ado.
Immediately the explosion happened, the chapel of the school, where the children were gathered for morning mass, collapsed.
Some were trapped underneath the rubble, while some have been rescued and rushed to hospital.
According to source, Two reverend fathers were said to have been rescued alive and rushed to the hospital by emergency responders, which include the Lagos State and federal fire services, the Red Cross, police, navy and army personnel who were still on ground at the time of this report.
Some students lodged in the school hostel were said to have also been trapped when the building collapsed under the impact of the explosion while some escaped unhurt.
The Staff Officer, Western Naval Command, Oladele Daji, told journalists that the injured pupils had been stabilised at the Navy Hospital, adding that those who had fully recovered would be discharged soon.
During a visit to the Bonne Sante Hospital, where most of the pupils were rushed for treatment, one of the pupils, 15-year old Ebube Abana, said the explosion occurred while the Mass was being celebrated in the refectory.
“I am a boarding student; we were in the refectory when a car blew up. We were having Mass when I came outside and as I heard the explosion, blood started coming out of my ear, so I started running for my safety,”
The school’s Hostel Mistress, Christiana Adedoyin, said one of the security guards at the school died from the effect of the building collapse during the explosion.
The Nation gathered that residents made tremendous efforts at the initial stage to evacuate most of the pupils through Zone 7 before fire gutted part of the school.
They were said to have rushed at least 60 injured persons to the Navy Reference Hospital in Ojo, while several others were taken to a hospital inside Festac.