Pregnant woman, 4 others electrocuted in Lagos
By Kusoro Jeremiah
Five persons, including a pregnant woman according to News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, were allegedly electrocuted on Thursday in Lagos after a PHCN high-tension cable fell, causing fire and explosion.
An eyewitness informed that the incident that happened around 2.00 a.m. at Oworonshoki, Lagos was as a result of a fire that broke out when the cable fell on a Toyota Camry car loaded with petroleum products.
The source added that the victims ran into the live cable when they rushed out of their homes on hearing the explosion.
“As they rushed out, they all embraced the cable in front of their house and they were electrocuted.
“The corpses were taken to Yaba General Hospital by policemen from Oworonshoki and some residents of the area.
“The husband of the pregnant woman, who also lost a son, attempted to commit suicide by drinking a poisonous substance but was however, prevented by neighbors.
“The youths in the area prevented PHCN workers from coming to the scene because they blamed the electricity company for the deaths,’’ the source said.
Mr Razak Fadipe, Director of the Lagos State Fire Service confirmed the incident, saying that the victims included three teenagers, a pregnant woman and another woman.
Fadipe said that the high-tension cable fell on the vehicle parked on the street with jerrycans of petroleum products, noting that when he got the information at about 2.50 a.m. his men went there and were able to contain the fire from spreading to nearby buildings.