A fire incident that occurred at the High Commission of Canada to Nigeria, located in the Central Business District of Abuja, has claimed two lives, leaving two others injured and hospitalised with severe burns.
Confirming the incident, the Head of Operations of the FCT Fire Service, Amiola Adebayo, told our correspondent in a phone interview that two people were fatally injured in the incident, while about three or four other victims had been rushed to hospitals.
“Yes, yes, it’s true. We have two fatally injured and the others in the hospital, either three or four,” he said.
Adebayo, however, did not state the cause of the fire incident or whether the affected victims were foreign expatriates or Nigerian citizens.
A statement by the Head of Public Affairs of the FCT Emergency Management Agency, Nkechi Isa, disclosed that the incident was caused by a diesel explosion in the generator house of the Canadian Embassy, leaving two persons fatally injured, while two other victims had been rushed to the Trauma Centre of the National Hospital Abuja.
Isa noted that the incident occurred at about 10:30 a.m. on Monday morning when a five-man team from a JMD company went in to service the Mikano generators used by the Embassy.
“A diesel tank explosion in the generator house at the Canadian Embassy in the Federal Capital Territory has left two persons dead and two hospitalized at the National Hospital Trauma Centre with severe burns. The incident happened at about 10:45 am today.
“One of the power-generating sets was said to be working, while the other one was being serviced. The fire occurred when the tank of diesel in the generator house, containing 2000 litres of diesel, exploded.
“Two of the personnel servicing the generator were fatally injured, and two people survived and are on admission at the National Hospital Trauma Centre with severe burns”, the statement read.
Nkechi also explained that men of the FCT Fire Service were able to contain the fire around 12.30 pm, adding that the victims of the fire were Nigerians.
“Reacting to the incident, the Acting Director General of FEMA, Mr Mohammed Ibrahim Sabo, called for caution in the handling of petroleum products, particularly with the onset of the dry season”, the statement also read.
Meanwhile, ambulances from the Ministry of Defence Ship House, the Abuja Federal Fire Service, and the FCT Emergency Management Agency were reportedly on hand at the scene of the incident.
Eyewitnesses claim that the dead victims were blown out of the generator house by the force of the explosion, while one had escaped through the roof.
