TRAGEDY: Kerosene explosion kills mother, three children
A mother, Mrs. Nseobong Uduak, has been killed along with her three children in an explosion suspected to have been caused by adulterated kerosene in their home in the Eight Miles area of Calabar, Cross River State.
The incident, which was said to have happened on Sunday, caused scare as residents became apprehensive of suspected adulterated kerosene in circulation.
An eyewitness said on Monday that the victims were confirmed dead at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital where their burnt bodies were taken to.
The witness, who identified herself as Rachael Akpan, said the explosion took place at 124 Murtala Mohammed Highway, Ikot Omin, in Eight Miles, Calabar.
She gave the names of two of the children as Miracle (10) and Silas (3), while the name of a two-month-old baby, could not be ascertained.
It was learnt that the two-bedroomed apartment occupied by the victims was razed and property worth millions of naira destroyed.
Akpan said the incident happened when one of the victims, Miracle, was about filling a lantern with kerosene following the mother’s instruction.
She said, “I was in my apartment when I heard something exploded like a bomb. When I rushed out, I saw that my neighbour’s house had been engulfed by uncontrollable flames.
“One of our neighbours said before the explosion, she heard the voice of the mother, Nseobong, telling her first son, Miracle, to fill the lantern with kerosene.
“All the neighbours tried to put out the fire to rescue the victims, but before we could do so, Silas and the baby had been burnt to death. Miracle and the mother were rushed to the UCTH, but they both died later. Some neighbours tried to call the state fire service, but help never came.”
Another resident, who gave his name as Jeremiah Joshua, said it was sad that kerosene explosion had resurfaced in Calabar.
He called on the Federal Government to ascertain the source of the kerosene supplied to the masses for domestic use.
When contacted, the Chief Medical Director of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Prof. Thomas Agan, said he had yet to be briefed on the development.
However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Irene Ugbo, confirmed the incident.
Ugbo, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, said another kerosene explosion also claimed the life of an infant in Calabar.
“I am aware of the kerosene explosion incident involving a mother and her three children in the Eight Miles area of Calabar.
“This adulterated kerosene issue in Calabar is causing more havoc because I just got information that it happened somewhere else and a small child was killed,” she said.
