… It’s a mystery, family says
A family of four died in a midnight kerosene explosion at Ikot Ekpo Community, about eight miles from Calabar, in Cross River State.
The deceased, identified as Esuabana Thomas Okon; his two children – Okon Esua Thomas, aged 14; and Edet Esua Thomas, 12 – and his brother-in-law, simply identified as Mathias, all perished in the explosion.
They hailed from Ukwa Eburutu in Odukpani Local Government Area of the state.
The Point, however, learnt that Esuabana’s wife and a daughter were the only survivors.
A neighbour, Offiong Efanga, said, “I had a call at about 10 O’clock that there was a fire outbreak in my compound, so I had to rush down here. By the time I got here, the neighbours had succeeded in putting out the fire, but they did not know initially that people had actually been burnt inside because it seemed there were no screams.
“It was after the fire was extinguished that we discovered three persons inside who were already dead. Another victim, who was also fatally burnt, was rushed to the hospital but he gave up the ghost on the way and so his dead body was brought back. The only survivor among the children is the daughter. I met her in that Church close to my compound, very frightened.”
“She told me that her mother had asked the elder brother to refill the lantern but that the boy refused and went inside, and that after some minutes, her mother decided to send her to refill the lantern; and that as soon as she poured the kerosene into the already lit but dim lantern, there was a huge explosion. She said she threw the lantern away and ran out. She said their mother was outside, urinating, when the explosion occurred.”
Also speaking, a relative of the Esuabanas, one Samuel Inyang, who said the explosion happened at about 9.30pm, described the incident as mysterious, adding that what surprised everyone was how the girl could run out while his father and the other three could not, even when the door was open.
He said, “The incident happened in the kitchen. The four persons who died were in the room but we cannot explain why they could not run out of the door. How can our kerosene be exploding like bombs? It is a mystery that the door was open but our brother and his children and in-law could not escape.
“The fire incident started in the kitchen, not the room, and they had every opportunity to have escaped but they could not. It is a mystery.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer could not be reached as of the time of filing this report.
