LAGOS, Nigeria

At least 16 people were killed and more than one hundred homes burnt when a gas pipeline exploded Sunday in Nigeria’s capital.

Ibrahim Farinloye, a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), told Anadolu Agency that 16 bodies had been recovered hours after the explosion, which was triggered when a truck hit some gas cylinders at a gas processing plant near Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.’s pipeline in Abule-Ado, a densely populated area of Lagos.

"We've evacuated 16 bodies so far. Over 100 houses were burnt. The scene is bad," Farinloye said.

Emergency officials are still recovering bodies from the rubble of burnt homes.

President Muhammadu Buhari in a statement described the incident as a national tragedy. He sent condolences to the families of the victims and Lagos state.

The pipeline explosion was the second this year in Lagos following an incident on Jan. 19 in the same area.