Tony Edike
15 November 2011, Sweetcrude, ENUGU – A 35-year-old nursing mother, Mrs. Nkechi Ozuku, and her five-year old daughter, Nnenna, were confirmed dead Monday following severe burns they sustained from a kerosene explosion that rocked their Iva Valley residence in Enugu, Sunday night.
The incident which occurred at 12B Agu Abor Street, Iva Valley, at about 10pm, has also left the head of the family, Mr. Emmanuel Ozuku and their second baby, said to be four months old, unconscious at the Accident and Emergency Ward of the National Orthopedic Hospital, Enugu.
An eyewitness and elder brother to Emmanuel, Mr. Francis Ozuku, who narrated the incident at the hospital yesterday, said Mrs. Nkechi died at 9.30 pm Monday, while their first daughter, Nnenna also gave up the ghost at about 10 am.
According to Francis, he and Emmanuel had attended a meeting that ended at 3pm on Sunday and thereafter returned to his own residence within the same Iva Valley for a discussion after which they left for his younger brother’s house at 9.30 pm.
On arrival at the house, Francis said they discovered that there was power outage and he went back to his house while Emmanuel moved into his apartment to ascertain why his wife and two daughters were in darkness.
Nkechi was said to have rushed into the room and poured kerosene into a lantern with a view to providing light for the family, but immediately she struck a stick of matches, the lantern exploded and all the occupants were burnt.
The four victims were rushed to the National Orthopedic Hospital where they were admitted at the Accident and Emergency Ward.
