The Federal Government, through the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), has temporarily closed the Lagos airspace following a fire outbreak at Terminal One of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
FAAN in a statement released on Monday stated that the decision was taken in line with established safety protocols.
FAAN also confirmed that the 14 persons initially trapped during the incident were safely rescued.
A crane was deployed to support operations at the Control Tower, which led to the successful evacuation of all affected individuals. One of the victims was transferred to the FAAN Headquarters Hospital for further medical evaluation and is also stable.
Six casualties, three males and three females were recorded.
According to reports from the Fire Service, the fire originated from the server room on the first floor of Terminal 1. The blaze in the departure hall was brought under control by emergency responders, who stayed back to monitor the area to prevent it from spreading to other sections of the terminal.
Investigations later traced the source to a burning lithium inverter battery installed in the basement.
This incident comes nearly three years after a similar fire outbreak at the airport’s international wing in September 2023. At the time, FAAN said the smoke was caused by a suspected electrical spark in the ceiling of the baggage hall.
