There was pandemonium at the Tundunwada area of Lugbe, a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory when a transformer exploded and electrocuted six persons, including a pregnant woman who recently moved into her house in the area.
About four persons were also said to
have been injured during the incident, including a six-year-old boy, Destiny
Okolo, who suffered injuries on his face and left ear.
PUNCH
Metro learnt that the transformer was
on fire for about 10 minutes during which it sent devastating electric current
to some residential apartments in the area.
It was gathered that the incident happened
around 9pm on Saturday.
Findings indicate that the pregnant
woman, whose name could not be immediately ascertained, wanted to switch off
her fan when she was electrocuted. Her son was said to have raised the alarm
which alerted her neighbours to her death.
The lad was said to have been taken to
a Catholic church pending when his father, who is a resident in Lagos, would
arrive in Abuja.
Geoffrey Atoh, 24, whose friend,
Joseph Terva, was electrocuted, explained that the victim was about stepping
out of his apartment when he was killed.
“We were outside when the transformer
exploded and started burning for about 10 minutes. Everyone was afraid and
started running helter-skelter. It was later that I heard that my friend,
Joseph, was electrocuted. We rushed down to his house and found that he had
died,” Atoh explained.
Donald Dooga, who lost his brother,
Joseph Moses, 22, told our correspondent that his sibling died before they
could get him to the hospital.
Dooga said Moses was electrocuted as
he was about changing the fuse of his electricity switchboard when he saw the
blaze from the transformer.
He said, “When Joseph saw the
explosion and the huge fire from the transformer, he rushed to the switchboard
to change the fuse, but he was electrocuted in the process. Somebody told me
that my brother had been electrocuted, so, we rushed him to the hospital, but
he died on the way.”
He said the deceased had just
completed his secondary school education and was working as a barber to raise
money to further his education.
“We have informed our parents in Benue
and we will take him there for burial soon,” he added.
Little Destiny was recuperating at
home when our correspondent visited, but his father said he had spent over
N11,000 on medical bills.
His mother said she was on the
verandah when she felt electricity current passing through the floor tiles.
“We attempted to run from the house,
but the electric current injured Destiny in the face and behind the ear.
Another person, Edwin Joseph, was also injured in the waist,” she said.
A survivor, Donald Terlumun, said he
was dozing in his room when screams outside. He added that his room was
vibrating and as he made to leave the house, he was jolted by the electric
current.
He said, “As I made to step out, the
door shocked me and threw me against the wall. I shouted and made for the door
again and the next thing was that I was flung outside where I hit my face on
the ground. I later opened my eyes to find myself in the hospital.”
Terlumun who had a swollen face and
some cuts, stated that he had spent N20,800 on hospital bills.
His neighbour, Nathaniel Nyinjo,
blamed the AEDC for the incident, saying they had visited the community and
promised to compensate the injured.
He said, “The AEDC has already
admitted its fault and promised to visit us during the Sallah holiday. But if
they failed to compensate the injured and the families of the deceased, they
should forget about restoring power around here and we will take them to
court.”
Another survivor, Pius Moses, who was
injured in both feet, said he had spent N14,500 to treat his injuries.
The Head, Corporate Communications and
Community Relations, AEDC, Mr. Oyebode Fadipe, said investigation had commenced
into the incident.
He declined to speak about
compensations for the victims until the cause of the accident had been
established and a decision taken by the management.
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