*Scores injured
Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Scores of people have sustained several degrees of injuries and burns as a gas explosion rocked the ever busy Port Harcourt shopping mall, popularly called Spar, near the Rivers State Government House.
Our correspondent gathered that the explosion occurred this evening around 6:00 pm, was caused by a cooking gas from one of the kitchens on the first floor of the two-storey building.
The explosion forced the management of the mall to order every guest and customers to evacuate the building as the operation was shut down operation immediately, even as many people had gone to the shopping mall for relaxation to mark the June 12th national public holiday.
An eyewitness, Miss Adaure Omubo, who was celebrating her birthday inside the mall, said the explosion was from a gas cylinder from one of the kitchens in the mall and she saw several wounded people on the floor.
“I was inside for my birthday celebration. Several persons got first degree burns instantly. It was a gas explosion and I heard two people are dead already.
“It was from cooking gas. When the explosion occurred, we were all panicky and everyone was told to leave the building. It was from a cooking gas from the kitchen,” the eye witness said.
Confirming the development, the Rivers State Police Command, said the explosion came from a cooking gas cylinder used in of the kitchens.
Police Public Relations Officer, Rivers State Command, Nnamdi Omoni, also said five persons were injured, and that they have been rushed to the hospital.
