Five persons, including a pregnant woman were allegedly electrocuted on Thursday in Lagos after a Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN high-tension cable fell, causing fire and explosion.
The incident according to an eyewitness happened around 2.00 a.m. at Oworonshoki, Lagos.
The source said that fire broke out when the cable fell on a Toyota Camry car loaded with petroleum products, adding that the victims rushed out of their homes when they heard the explosion and ran into the live cable unknowingly.
“As they rushed out, they all embraced the cable in front of their house and they were electrocuted. The corpses were taken to Yaba General Hospital by policemen from Oworonshoki and some residents of the area.
“The husband of the pregnant woman, who also lost a son, attempted to commit suicide by drinking a poisonous substance but was however, prevented by neighbours.
“The youths in the area prevented PHCN workers from coming to the scene because they blamed the electricity company for the deaths,’’ the source said.
The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, confirmed the incident, saying that the victims included three teenagers, a pregnant woman and another woman.
Fadipe said that the high-tension cable fell on the car parked on the street with jerrycans of petroleum products, noting that he got the information at about 2.50 a.m.
The director said that his men were able to contain the fire from spreading to nearby buildings.
Efforts to speak with the PHCN Ikeja Distribution Zone’s Public Relations Officer, Pekun Adeyanju, proved abortive as he did not respond to calls.
However, policemen from the Oworonshoki Division have been deployed to the scene to prevent breakdown of law and order.
Meanwhile, another disaster was averted at Ogba and Coconut Bus Stops in Apapa, when two tankers conveying 33,000 litres of petrol fell and spilled fuel on the highway.
Fadipe said that his men were also on ground to ensure that the spill did not result to fire outbreak.
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