Gas explosion kill 1, injure 20 persons in Delta community

Nosa Akenzua, Asaba

Gas Cylinder explosion which occurred on Monday evening in Ugboroko Community, Uvwie local Government Area of Delta State, has left no fewer than twenty persons fatally injured and one other feared killed.
It was gathered that the twenty victims apart from being homeless, are currently being treated at the Specialist Hospital in the area with fatal injuries all over their bodies.
Eyewitness, Grace Johnson said the explosion occurred at Opi street by fish pond in Ugboroko Community at about 3pm as the pervasive explosion gutted makeshift building housing the twenty one victims.
She said the person killed was a 35 year old father of two children.
Sources said that it however took the intervention of the state owned fire Service to put out the fire including saving it from spreading to other buildings as efforts by neighbours within the buildings to put out the light before the arrival of the men of the fire Service were not successful.
But a family member of the victims who spoke to Journalists on condition of anonymity said the cooking gas cylinder exploded when the girlfriend of one of the tenants in the compound was preparing food and unknown to her that there was gas leakage from the cooking gas and in a twinkle of an eye, the gas exploded leaving the occupants struggling to escape for their dear lives.
Some of the victims who spoke to Journalists on their beds in the hospital said the incident shocked them like mystery, adding that they escaped death by whiskers.
Esther Obukevwo, a victim said” I don’t know how the fire started, I lost everything to the fire, Only one wrapper I have now, all my property gutted by the fire”.
Also, a pregnant woman carrying a child on her hands said she was lucky to come out of the fire through the help of God, adding that she and her child came out with minor injuries.
Another victim, Chioma Aniedu said “I went out before only to return to see everything burnt, my two children sustained injuries but were rescued by people. I am yet to recover from the shock. God is wonderful and I appeal to the state government to come to our aid.”
But the State Commissioner for Special duties, Barr Earnest Ogwezzy in a swift reaction said the state government was committed to providing helps for fire victims adding that investigation was going on to ascertain the root cause of the fire explosion in the area.