Nigerian school girls suffer severe burns from gas explosion

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that five of the victims are on life support at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki.

At least 10 school girls sustained various degrees of burns from a gas explosion that occurred on Friday in a catering school in Orokeonuoha, Ebonyi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, south-east Nigeria.

The explosion occurred inside the Good Shepherd Catering School building, where the girls, aged 12 to 19, were on their catering studies.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that five of the victims are on life support at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki.

One of the students was said to have answered a phone call from a cell phone while cooking inside the kitchen before a gas cylinder exploded.

One of the victims, 17-year-old Chisom, is the daughter of Emmanuel Nwizi, a staff member of the Nigeria Television Authority in Abakaliki.

“I got a call around 6:30 a.m. that the kitchen section of Good Shepherd Catering School had been engulfed by fire. I rushed to the place immediately because my daughter is a student there,” Mr Nwizi told journalists who visited him on Friday night at the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital.

The journalists’ visit to Mr Nwizi was organised by the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Ebonyi State Council.

Narrating his experience, Mr Nwizi said, “When I got there (the catering school), I saw students discussing in groups. One of them said if one of the students hadn’t entered the kitchen with her phone, the incident wouldn’t have happened.

“I moved into the school proper, and I was told that the victims had been taken to the police clinic. I quickly rushed to the police clinic and was informed that they had been taken to the Accident and Emergency Unit of Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki.”

Mr Nwizi said when he got to the teaching hospital, he could count up to 10 girls who suffered severe burns from the explosion.

“Out of the ten, five are still on life-supporting machines till now,” he added.

“My daughter sustained severe burns, but I have hope that she will survive.

“The school authority is doing well. They have been trying since the incident occurred. They have not asked any parent to bring a dime, they are still saying after saving lives first before they will engage parents to bring whatever (money) they have,” Mr Nwizi said.

PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately contact the school authorities for comment as the officials were busy because of the incident.

The all-girls school is owned by the Abakaliki Catholic Diocese.