A burning cistern and burnt cars in the aftermath of a blast at an industrial gas plant in Nnewi, southeast Nigeria, in a frame grab made on December 25, 2015 from a video shot the same day by TV Continental
Nine people were killed and three others remain in critical condition after a huge Christmas Eve blast at an industrial gas plant in southeast Nigeria, officials said Sunday.
A colossal inferno was triggered around noon on Thursday, engulfing the city of Nnewi in clouds of billowing black smoke and leaving some of the victims charred beyond recognition.
A 68-year-old woman died Saturday morning “due to excessive inhalation of toxic fumes, bringing the death total to nine,” National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesman James Eze told AFP.
Three other people, including a seven-month pregnant woman, remain in hospital receiving treatment.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari had said in a press statement Friday that “tens” of people had died in the catastrophic explosion, but presidency spokesman Garba Shehu could not confirm that number.
“I am not in a position to say,” Shehu said to AFP.
Explosions are common in oil-rich Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, where fuel is distributed with poorly maintained trucks on potholed roads.
Earlier in December, a tanker loaded with fuel exploded in a crowded Lagos neighbourhood, setting off a fire that injured several residents and decimated nearby vehicles and houses. …Read More
Source:: PM Newspaper
