Adulterated Kerosene Kills Four Persons In Calabar
3 min read
An inferno allegedly caused by adulterated kerosene on Monday night, killed four persons in Ikot Ekpo community of 8th mile, Calabar, the Cross River state capital .
The head of the house, a 45 years old man, two of his children and an in-law were said to be victims of the fire outbreak.
The names of the deceased were given as Esuabana Thomas Okon 45, his two children , Okon Esua Thomas,14 and Edet Esua Thomas, 12, while the In-law, simply called Mathias, also died in the inferno.
The deceased were all indigenes of Ukwa Eburutu in Odukpani local government area of Cross River State.
The landlord of the fire victims, Engr. Efiom Offiong Efanga, while speaking to newsmen said, “I had a call at about a minute to ten O’clock that there was a fire outbreak in my compound so I had to rush down here. By the time I got here, the neighbours had succeeded in putting out the fire but they did not know initially that people had actually been burnt inside because it seems there were no screams.
“It was after the fire was extinguished that we discovered three persons inside who were already dead. Another victim, who was also fatally burnt, was rushed to the hospital but he gave up the ghost on the way and so his dead body was brought back. The only survivour among the children is the daughter. I met her in that Church close to my compound, very frightened.
“She told me that the mum asked the elder brother to refuel the lantern but the boy refused and went inside, and that after some minute, the mum decided to send her to refuel the lantern and that as soon as she poured the kerosene into the already lit but dim lantern, there was a huge explosion so she threw the lantern away and ran out. She said, the mother was outside easing herself when the explosion occurred.”
A relative to the Esuabanas, Mr Samuel Inyang further expatiated that the explosion happened at about 9.30. He described the incident as mysterious, adding that what surprised everyone was how the girl could run out while his father and the other three could not, even when the door was open.
Inyang said: “The incident happened in the kitchen. The four persons who died were in the room but we cannot explain why they could not run out of the door. How can our kerosene be exploding like bombs? It is a mystery that the door was open but our brother and his children and in-law could not escape. The fire incident started in the kitchen, not the room, and they had every opportunity to have escaped but they could not. It is a mystery”.
“Bunkering kerosene is believed to be responsible for all these explosions. Government should rise to the occasion and save the lives of Nigerians”, he appealed.
