By SUNNY OKIM

The Nigerian Red Cross Society has come on hard against reports quoting official sources by a cross section of the media over the rescue operations being carried out at the site of the explosion which occurred at Abule Ado area of Lagos State on Sunday morning.

Unlike the reports making the rounds, the international humanitarian organisation claims it was the first to respond to the explosion in terms of attending to the victims.

Speaking exclusively to News Express, the Lagos State Chairman of the Nigerian Red Cross Society, Lagos State Chapter, Mrs Victoria Adebola Kolawole said,

"The reports I have read so far concerning response to the emergency situation at Abule Ado explosion are totally distorted. I don't know where such reports are coming from. I make bold to say that the Red Cross was among the very first to respond to the unfortunate situation. We were the first to move to the site to offer help to the victims.

"For example, it was the Red Cross that picked the dead to bag. All the fifteen corpses were bagged by the Red Cross. The injured were also taken to different hospitals by the Red Cross even before the arrival of other agencies. We were among the first set of rescuers that got to the scene of the explosion, but the Red Cross Society has not been mentioned in all the media reports I have read so far. Is it that some people are trying hard to exploit the unfortunate situation to shore up their image? That is rather unfortunate."

Speaking further, the Red Cross boss said,

"As I am talking to you right now (Monday morning), I am on my way again to the site with a little girl of about three years old whom we rescued. The mother was injured in the explosion as well as her brother. The two were taken to two different hospitals yesterday, we tried to locate her mother last night but could not. We are continuing with the search for the little girl's mother this Monday morning."

Kolawole said the Red Cross does not offer emergency relief to take glory or be praised.

"Our work is to serve humanity without expecting any favour or praises in return. But all we are saying is that let the reports not be distorted for whatever reason by any government agency or whoever. It's a very sad situation and nobody should try to take any undue credit or advantage. We should rather all join hands to see what we can do to ensure that the victims' lives are saved while we mourn with the deceased families," she added.