No fewer than three persons
have been confirmed dead while 10 persons sustained various degrees of
injuries after a five kilogram gas cylinder exploded at a residential
building.
The incident was said to have
occurred at No 32 Osazuwa Street, off Benin-Agbor expressway in
Ikpoba-Okha local government area of the state.
Among the deceased were two siblings – Favour, aged two and Odion, aged 11.
The gas explosion which occurred in the early hours of Sunday affected four families when fire engulfed the building
One of the victims, Ese
Egharevba, whose husband and two children were affected told journalists
she was outside when she heard the explosion.
Mrs. Egharevba said they found
the cylinder and took it outside while her husband called on residents
in the building not to strike any match or put on their stoves.
She stated that unknown to
them, a family was already cooking inside and when one of their children
attempted to open the door, fire engulfed the building.
A teacher who gave his name as Christian Unuame said the owner of the cylinder that exploded does not live in the building.
He revealed that, “the
cylinder exploded around after seven. We took the cylinder outside and
we warned everybody not to put on any fire. I went to the bathroom to
take my bath and some minutes later fire erupted.
“Nobody in the house uses gas
to cook. It was somebody that kept the cylinder in my neighbour’s room. I
just finish my youth service and I am managing a teaching job.”
Another victim who gave his
name as Bello could only utter few words as some of the surviving
victims were admitted at the Enoma Hospital in the area.
Meanwhile, mother of the
deceased siblings and her eldest daughter were said to have been
referred to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.
0 comments:
Post a Comment