Family Of Four Perish In Fire After Son Put Fuel In Lantern Instead Of Kerosene

Oh Dear!!!

A father, Okon Esua Abanga and three sons were burnt to death in Calabar, Cross River State on Monday around 10 pm at Ikot Ekpo in Calabar Municipal Local Government Area of Cross River State.

An eyewitness, said the corpses have already been taken to Ukwa in Odukpani local government area of Cross River State for burial while the son who lit the lantern was seriously burnt to death.

“A daughter is receiving treatment at the hospital due to injury sustained during the inferno. The incident happened around 10 pm on Monday when the son of Elder Okon Esua Abanga who is preparing for his WASCE ran out of kerosene


“There were about six of them in a room and a parlour apartment
In fact, what makes the wife to escape the disaster was that when the son told her that there was no kerosene in the lantern, she told him to refill the lantern and in the process, the lantern exploded and it burnt the occupants of the house,” the eyewitness stated.


He said that immediately the explosion occurred, the force flung a daughter out to a distance. It was also gathered that there was a generator in the room and it may be responsible for the explosion.


According to Dailypost, suffocation may also be responsible for the death.’


“The dead children are all boys, one was a student of the University of Calabar and should be about 18, the other who was writing WAEC exams should be 16, then the other ones are said to be around eight and six respectively,” 


When contacted on Tuesday, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) DSP Irene Ugbo said, “It was a fire incident in the area. There was no electricity at that time

“The parent asked one of the victims to put kerosene in the lantern since there was no public electricity supply and instead of kerosene fuel was carried and poured into the lantern and it exploded,”