[dropcap]A[/dropcap]bout 4 persons have been reported dead after a kerosene lantern exploded on Sunday in Calabar, Cross River State capital. The victims, 4, were members of the same family living in a 2 bedroom apartment at 124 Murtala Muhammed Highway, Ikot Omin in 8 miles. The victims were, Mrs Nseobong Uduak (Mother), Miracle 10, Silas 3 and a two month old baby, whose name could not be ascertain were seriously burnt to dead.
According to our source, the kerosene was adulterated and sold to the family. The victims who were rushed to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH, Calabar had severe burnt and could not survive it.The two bed room apartment occupied by the victims was razed and property worth millions of naira destroyed. An eyewitness who gave her name as Rachel Akpan, blamed the incident on adulterated kerosene which, she said, exploded as one of the deceased children, Miracle, was about filling the lantern with kerosene.
Her words, “I was inside my apartment when I heard something exploded like bomb, and as I rushed outside, I saw my neighbour’s house engulfed with smoke and uncontrollable flame of fire just within a twinkling of an eye. One of our neighbours said that before the explosion, she heard the young woman, Nseobong Uduak, telling her first son, Miracle, to fill the lantern with kerosene.
“Everybody was battling on how to put off the inferno and 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 Teaching Hospital but both gave up the ghost.
“Some neighbours put a call through to the State fire service but that help never came and the neighbours managed to put out the fire all by themselves”.
She expressed surprise that the fire service has not been forthcoming in terms of rescue during emergencies.
A Resident, who gave his name as Evangelist Jeremiah Joshua, expressed surprise that cases of kerosene explosion was becoming too rampant in Calabar and therefore called on the Federal Government to ascertain the source of kerosene supplied to the masses for domestic usage.
He said, “Most times, the kerosene was bought from filling station as we are advised to do and not from road sides. Even those selling by road sides also buy from filling stations but the question is; why is kerosene exploding these days? Nigerians had used kerosene since it became a nation.
“The federal government should explain to Nigerians the cause of kerosene explosions in the country”, he stated.
Several cases of kerosene explosions were recorded in the year 2017, with majority from Calabar. Others from Ikom, Obanliku, Yakurr, etc. But why adulterating kerosene? A commodity used on a daily basis, is the question that is begging for answers.