A Kerosene dealer at No. 35 Isiekenesi street, Aba, Abia State on 14thDecember, 2016 was allegedly mixing the product with another substance in one of the rooms in the building, when it exploded and consumed the entire seven room apartment.


Property worth over N10 million were claimed to have been lost  in the inferno  which occurred by 5.45am when most residents of the building were yet to wake up from their sleep.

An eyewitness told South East Voice  that  residents of the building  could not evacuate their properties due to the intensity of the fire, even as  several attempts by sympathizers to quench the fire were unsuccessful.

A group of irate youths of the area had  attacked men of  the Abia State Fire Service who raced to the scene when the fire had wrecked the building. 

Narrating his ordeal, a resident; who gave his name as Ede, said, “I was woken up by an alarm raised by neighbours that the building was on fire, but I  ran out to save my head, and  could not evacuate any property as all I had laboured for life was consumed in the inferno.

“I don’t know the cause of the fire because there was no electricity supply. What I was told was that one of our neighbours who deal on Kerosene was mixing it with another substance when it exploded and burst into fire which rent the whole apartment. We called the Fire Service People but before they arrived, fire had destroyed the building.”