From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
A 70-year-old man has lost six members of his family, including children and grandchildren, in fire outbreak that occurred in his house in Rivers State.
The incident occurred in Ngbede community in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of the State at the weekend.
The survivor, Mr. Fidelis Ezinne, said victims included his children and grandchildren.
Mr. Ezinne told reporters that that what he could remember about the fire incident was only sound from a generator in one of the rooms in the house which happened about 6:30 pm.
The devastated grandfather said that he was sitting outside before he saw his freezer exploded, and the light wounded people around.
He narrated: “This was about 6:30 pm to 7pm. About six people have died. My son, a woman, the child and the daughter of my wife and one other person.”
Another eyewitness who gave his name as Eric said the incident might have been caused by an electric fault where a refrigerator was connected to a stabilizer.
“I was outside the house just along the road when we heard people screaming fire, fire.
“Before we got there, everything has happened. We rushed those affected to the hospital, but they didn’t make it.”
Commander of a vigilance group called OSPAC in the area, Godknows Nkem, described the incident as unfortunate and regrettable.
Nkem expressed: “What happened is very regretable at this festive period. The loss of six able men and women is unfortunate.
“I want to use this medium to advise all and sundry to be mindful of all flamable materials, especially this festive period.
“Life is one thing that all of us must guide well. This is the dry season, people should be mindful of what they use, what they keep in their houses, especially flamable materials to avoid disaster.”