It was a black Christmas eve for residents of the industrial town of Nnewi, Anambra State as over 100 people were reported to have been burnt to ashes in a fire disaster, which occurred at Inter Corp Oil Limited (an LPG gas plant).
It was gathered that the inferno, which started at about 11 am, was caused by an explosion which occurred when a truck attempted to discharge its contents without waiting for the mandatory cooling time while customers were said to be refilling their gas cylinders at the same time.
Those affected by the incident were people at the gas plant as well as neighbourhood and passersby.
DAILY POST gathered that burnt remains and other badly burnt people were rushed to the Nnamdi Azikwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi, while the heavy inferno did not allow rescue workers gain assess into the factory where the majority of the victims alleged to be up to hundred, were trapped.
Apart from the lives lost to the inferno, many buildings and over 50 vehicles around the gas plant were equally affected and some dead victims were said to have been recovered from their homes.
When the fire fighters from Awka and Okpoko finally arrived, it took the intervention of the security agents to save them from being lynched by the angry mob who questioned why Nnewi fire service was not functional. A combined team from the army, Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC), police and vigilante had a hectic time dispersing the surging crowd.
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