Following the gas explosion that rocked Nnewi industrial town which plunged residents into mourning when scores of persons were reportedly burnt to ashes, relatives of the victims are now combing bushes near the gas plant for corpses of missing family members.
A member of the House of Representatives representing Nnewi North, Nnewi South and Ekwusigo Federal Constituency, Hon Chris Azubogu, who visited the scene of the explosion, noted that the accident had ‘cast a big shadow on Christmas celebrations in the town.’
While commiserating with relatives of victims, he prayed for the repose of the souls of the victims, as well as, for the quick recovery of those in the hospitals.
Hon Azubogu said that the accident has made it incumbent on the government to enforce safety standards, stressing the need for regulatory bodies like the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR and similar agencies to ensure that environmental impact assessments are properly carried out before giving licenses to people to set up filling stations.
Some of the relatives of the victims, while speaking with newsmen at the scene, said they decided to search the bushes because they got information that many people ran into it during the explosion.
A staff of Chikason Group, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said workers of the organisation recently concluded a two-week fasting and prayer session after a prophet allegedly warned the Chairman of the group of an impending doom, adding that the unnamed prophet did not specify which of the factories in the group would be affected, a situation that made many members of staff to participate in the prayer sessions.
“I don’t know why all these bad things are happening. Our Chairman is a very good man who is passionate about the welfare of the downtrodden even at great personal cost. Last time two of his fully-loaded trucks just disappeared. The vehicles were carrying items running into millions of naira. That one is yet to be resolved and now this fire disaster,” he said
Also, a middle aged woman, named Amaka, said she was still in shock after the incident.
Amaka said, “I cannot just believe that my maid who was sent to refill gas at the factory is gone for ever.
“I am in deep trouble, what will I tell the family of the girl, I just brought her from the village last three months with the promise that I would help sponsor her education, I have gone to the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, NAUTH, Nnewi mortuary where the corpses are deposited but my maid is not there. Will I just go and tell the parents that their daughter is dead without the corpse?” she queried.
Similarly, the traditional ruler of Nnewi, Igwe Kenneth Orizu in company of his council of titled chiefs visited the scene of the fire incident. Spokesman for the royal father and former Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Anambra state, Chief Dan Ulasi told newsmen that Nnewi has never experienced such a level of devastation in its entire history.
He pointed out that the Igwe and his cabinet had also visited the injured in different hospitals in Nnewi, expressing shock that an industrial town like Nnewi does not have a functional Fire Service Station.
Ulasi consequently called on the government to address the anomaly.
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