No fewer than 12 persons sustained
various degrees of burns following an explosion which rocked a settlement known
as Kara Market along Atani Road, Ogbaru near Onitsha in Anambra State. Confirming
the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Anambra, DSP Ali
Okechukwu, said on Wednesday in Ogbaru, that the explosion was caused by fuel
stored in a jerrycan for future use.
“The explosion was not a bomb as
being speculated by people. A jerrycan of petrol that was brought to
the
settlement exploded around the area and some people sustained various degrees
of burns. “They were taken to various hospitals and are currently receiving
treatment. No death was recorded,” Okechukwu said.
He said that Police had
taken control of the situation and advised people to stop panic buying and
storage of fuel because of the danger such practice posed in the event of an
explosion or fire incident. Okechukwu put the casualty figure at 11.
However,
an eyewitness and leader of the settlement, Mr Sabo Mohammed, told NAN that the
incident occurred at a restaurant in the market at about 8:30 p.m. on May 3.
Mohammed alleged that the explosion might have been from a bomb brought into
the market by an unknown person. “An unidentified boy walked into a restaurant
with three jerry cans demanding for food and left almost immediately without
eating the food, leaving the jerrycans behind. “Some minutes later, one of the
jerrycans, exploded leaving many people injured.
“The victims had severe burns
that you cannot even hold their skin to carry them to hospital,” Mohammed said.
Another eyewitness, who pleaded anonymity, described the incident as
“unfortunate”. The source said that the victims were taken to five hospitals —
Good News Hospital and Chioma Clinic both in Ogbaru; Toronto and Borromew
Hospitals in Onitsha, and the General Hospital at Asaba, Delta state.
“This has
been a peaceful market until yesterday. We are now disorganised and afraid of
what might happen next,” the source said. It urged the state government to
provide adequate security in the area and help pay the bills of the victims.
Narrating her ordeal, one of the victims, Mrs Mariam Mohammed, who is receiving
treatment at one of the hospitals, said she was washing dishes at the
restaurant when the explosion occurred. “I was washing plates when suddenly I
heard a loud noise and fire spreading everywhere. Substances from the fire
poured on people eating and those standing near the restaurant. It was then
that I realised I was affected too,” she said. A doctor at the hospital, Dr
Joseph Evbomemen, said that Mrs Mohammed suffered serious burns on the body but
was responding to treatment. “The patient is now stable unlike yesterday that
she was disoriented. They brought in two patients; this woman and one other
boy. “The boy was badly injured, so we referred him to Borromew Hospital and
started treating the woman. We had to remove the surface skin but she has
improved. “The explosion affected Mrs Mohammed’s limbs and skull,’’ Evbomemen
said. NAN reports that the settlement, formerly a cattle market, now harbours
artisans, labourers, onions and poultry dealers. Meanwhile, two Police patrol
vehicles have been stationed in front of the market while traders were seen
going about their normal businesses. (NAN)
No fewer than 12
persons sustained various degrees of burns following an explosion which
rocked a settlement known as Kara Market along Atani Road, Ogbaru near
Onitsha in Anambra State.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in
Anambra, DSP Ali Okechukwu, said on Wednesday in Ogbaru, that the
explosion was caused by fuel stored in a jerrycan for future use.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/explosion-rocks-onitsha-market-12-persons-injured/
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/explosion-rocks-onitsha-market-12-persons-injured/
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