TheNewsGuru

Tag: Fire

  • Police trace Otedola bridge fire suspect to Kano

    Lagos State Ministry of Justice said yesterday that the police had traced to Kano, the owner of a petrol tanker that exploded last June 27 on the Otedola bridge in Lagos, killing 12 people.

    Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Mr. Adeniji Kazeem (SAN) said there was, however, uncertainty as to whether the truck driver died in the fire.

    Kazeem, who spoke in Ikeja, Lagos, at a parley with reporters, said the government had yet to fulfil its promise to prosecute the perpetrators of the disaster because the police had not availed it of the report of its investigation.

    The Otedola bridge fire incident occurred at about 5pm on the Otedola bridge at the Lagos end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway when a tanker carrying 33,000 litres of petrol, fell, leaked and exploded, killing 12 people.

    The inferno that ensued destroyed over 50 vehicles and caused gridlock for hours.

    Kazeem said: “We said we were going to prosecute the persons that caused that disaster. One of the challenges then was how to identify the perpetrators of that crime. We had said the driver and the owner needed to be identified.

    “There were all kinds of stories out there, including whether the driver had died in the fire or not. The owners, as we understand, were traced by the police to Kano.

    “The whole idea was that at the end of the day, they would conclude their investigation and get us the file here in the ministry. Unfortunately, we can’t do the investigation ourselves, so that we can begin prosecution.

    “Unfortunately that process has not yet been concluded, or is not conclusive yet. Until we get that file, we cannot proceed with prosecution.”

     

  • Abuja Airport: Operation resumes in new terminal after fire scare

    Abuja Airport: Operation resumes in new terminal after fire scare

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has announced resumption of flight operations at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja new terminal hours after fire scare on Saturday.

    FAAN’s Regional General Manager, North Central, Mr Sani Mahmud, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that normalcy had since returned to the terminal.

    Mahmud said that Turkish Airlines’ Abuja-Istanbul flight TK064 had commenced checking in as at 9 p.m.

    “This is to inform you that THY FLT TK064 enroute ABV-IST has commenced checking in processes in the NITZ and everything has been hitch free,” he said.

    There was panic earlier at the terminal when smoke emerged from a section of the facility leading to suspension of operations at the terminal.

    FAAN later disclosed that there was no fire outbreak, explaining that the incident was as a result of the system that came up when it sensed high ambient temperatures and sprays fire extinguishing agent.

    FAAN further explained that the residue of powder sprayed by the system was what was seen in the cloud as smoke.

  • No fire incident at Abuja airport – FAAN

    No fire incident at Abuja airport – FAAN

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said no fire incident has occurred at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Saturday.

    The General Manager, Corporate Affairs of FAAN, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, in a statement in Abuja, said there was only an equipment alarm triggered by high temperature.

    Yakubu explained that the new international terminal was equipped with fire alarm that squarely responds to high temperature.

    She explained that because of the prevailing high temperature in Abuja, the equipment triggered an alarm at the terminal, adding what appeared like smoke was actually the powder from the equipment.

    According to her, the incident was however swiftly curtailed by the in-built fire detection and protection system at the new terminal that triggered automatically.

    “The building was designed and built with this protection system.

    “The system comes up when it senses high ambient temperatures and sprays fire extinguishing agent.

    “The residue of powder sprayed by the system was seen in the cloud, there was no fire at all.

    “The Authority will like to reassure passengers and the public that there is no cause for panic, as the incident has been put under control and our firemen are clearing the remnant of powder after which operations will resume,” she said.

    An eye witness, who pleaded anonymity, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the incident, which occurred at about 3pm was earlier believed to be fire.

    He said the incident also caused a lot of panic that led to suspension of operations at the terminal.

    According to him, it appears the fire alarm is very active which made the situation to be quickly curtailed.

  • BREAKING: Passengers flee as fire guts Imo Airport

    BREAKING: Passengers flee as fire guts Imo Airport

    Passengers and Staff at the Sam Mbakwe Cargo Airport were thrown into panic Monday afternoon as fire broke out on the arrival section of the Airport.

    The cause of the fire was not known as at the time of filling this report but a source at the Airport said that there was an going renovation at the arrival hall, which was totally razed.

    Our correspondent gathered that the inferno, which raged for about one hour, started around 2:10pm.

    It took efforts from men of the Fire service and airport workers to put off the fire.

    The source said: “It was a mysterious fire outbreak. It happened at the arrival department of the airport where the authority was carrying out renovation work.

    “It would have caused bigger havoc but for the arrival of men of the fire service.

    “It started around 2:10pm and raged for 50 minutes. It damaged equipment and infrastructure but the rescue work assisted in savaging the situation.”

    When contacted the Police spokesperson in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, said that he has not being officially briefed .

  • Kogi fishing festival ends abruptly as gunmen open fire on attendees, injure five

    This year’s edition of the Dankwo fishing festival in Lokoja ended abruptly on Saturday when gunmen opened fire on participants.

    The News Agency of Nigeria gathered that the festival, which is an annual event organised by the Lokoja Traditional Council, was just about one hour underway when the gunmen invaded the venue, Kabawa Waterfront, in two engine boats.

    The armed invaders, three in number, positioned themselves strategically inside the boats before firing gunshots indiscriminately into the crowd.

    Guests at the event fled in different directions for safety but five of them were not so lucky as they were hit by bullets.

    Police were immediately contacted but the gunmen had escaped the scene before their arrival.

    They escaped in the same boats, they had come in, it was gathered.

    The Kogi State Police Command spokesman, DSP William Aya, while confirming the incident, described it as unfortunate.

    According to him, all the five injured victims have been taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja for treatment.

    He explained that nobody died in the attack, saying that two suspects had been arrested.

    Aya said that full investigation into the incident had started, adding that all those linked with the attack would be arrested and prosecuted.

  • 49 killed, 20 injured as gunman opens fire on Mosque during prayers

    49 killed, 20 injured as gunman opens fire on Mosque during prayers

    A gunman killed 49 people and wounded more than 20 during Friday prayers at two New Zealand mosques in the country’s worst ever mass shooting which Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, condemned as terrorism.

    A gunman broadcast live footage on Facebook of the attack on one mosque in the city of Christchurch, mirroring the carnage played out in video games, after publishing a “manifesto” in which he denounced immigrants.

    New Zealand was placed on its highest security threat level, Mr Ardern said.

    It added that four people in police custody, three men and one woman, held extremist views but had not been on any police watch lists.

    The visiting Bangladesh cricket team was arriving for prayers at one of the mosques when the shooting started but all members were safe, a team coach said.

    Police Commissioner, Mike Bush said 49 people had been killed at two mosques and one man in his late 20s charged with murder.

    “It is clear that this can now only be described as a terrorist attack,” Mr Ardern said.

    The video footage widely circulated on social media, apparently taken by a gunman and posted online live as the attack unfolded, showed him driving to one mosque, entering it and shooting randomly at people inside.

    Worshippers, possibly dead or wounded, lay huddled on the floor, the video showed. Reuters was unable to confirm the authenticity of the footage.

    One man who said he was at the Al-Noor mosque told media the gunman was white, blond and wearing a helmet and a bulletproof vest.

    The man burst into the mosque as worshippers were kneeling for prayers.

    “He had a big gun … he came and started shooting everyone in the mosque, everywhere,” said the man, Ahmad Al-Mahmoud.

    He said that he and others escaped by breaking through a glass door.

    All mosques in New Zealand had been asked to shut their doors, police said.

    The killings were condemned by political and Islamic leaders across Asia.

    “Indonesia strongly condemns this shooting act, especially at a place of worship while a Friday prayer was ongoing,” Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, said in a statement.

    She was earlier cited by media as saying six Indonesians had been inside one mosque when the attack occurred, with three managing to escape and three unaccounted for.

    Muslims account for just over one per cent of New Zealand’s population, a 2013 census showed.

    Before Friday, New Zealand’s worst mass shooting was in 1990 when a gun-mad loner killed 13 men, women and children in a 24-hour rampage in the tiny seaside village of Aramoana.

    He was killed by police.

  • Villagers burn family accused of witchcraft to death

    Five people, including three children, were burned to death in their home in Kenya by neighbours who accused a member of the family of practicing witchcraft, police said on Friday.

    Two women and three girls, aged seven, three and two, died in the attack on Thursday in Migori county in Kenya’s south-west, said local police officer Peter Kirui.

    Four other members of the family are in hospital after the arson, including the family patriarch, Elijah Otieno, who was the one suspected of witchcraft.

    In Africa, men, as well as women, can be accused of witchcraft or sorcery.

    The villagers had accused Otieno of making another man sick, police said.

    “The irate neighbours locked them up and set them on fire,’’ Kirui said, adding that 20 people have since been arrested.

    Cases of people, usually the elderly, being killed over witchcraft are not uncommon in parts of Africa where superstition runs deep.

    Often people are accused of witchcraft over personal disputes or misfortunes such as deaths from disease or crop failure.

    In June, an elderly man was lynched by villagers who accused him of being a witch in Kilifi county.

  • Police confirm 7 dead in Anambra petrol tanker fire

    Police in Anambra have confirmed seven persons dead following a petrol tanker explosion on Saturday night at Amawbia Roundabout.

    SP Haruna Mohammed, the Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Awka.

    ”So far, seven persons were certified dead at various hospitals by medical doctors while the only surviving victim was admitted at Intensive Care Unit of the University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi”, he said.

    According to Mohemmed, three of the bodies were deposited at Amaku General Hospital morgue, Awka, two at Regina Caeli Hospital, Awka and another two at Piston Hospital morgue, Awka.

    He added that postmortem examination would be conducted to ascertain exact cause of their deaths.

    NAN reports that sympathizers are still thronging to the scene of the incident to catch a glimpse at burnt vehicles, buildings and other valuables affected by the fire as at press time.

    An eye witness, Mr Ilu Ali, a vegetable dealer in Awka, told NAN at the scene that six of the dead victims were known to him.

    “Six persons who died as a result of the fire are northerners, and I know all of them, we were together before the fire started yesterday night.

    ”Those killed were Sabo Jigawa, Hamza Jarowro, Adamu Mohammed aka Janari, Dansoho, Malam Malam, and Jinjiri (from Garzawa, Kano),” he said.

    Ali said that apart from the dead, four other victims who sustained injuries were at Amaku Teaching Hospital, Awka and a private Hospital, Felly in Amawbia area.

    He told NAN that the victims were affected because the petrol from the tanker flowed through the water channel to a spot where they were roasting suya meat.

     

  • Fire destroyss INEC materials in Plateau LG

    A week to the beginning of the general elections, the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in Qua’anpan Local Government Area of Plateau has been gutted my fire.

    Mr Osaretin Imahiyereobo, Head, Voter Education and Publicity of the commission in the state, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Jos that the incident occurred on Saturday night.

    “It is true that our office in Qua’anpan has been gutted by fire caused by the negligence of the a security man on duty who didn’t know how to operate the generator but wanted to put it on.

    “The office is completely burnt to ashes with all the valuables in it destroyed.

    “Items such as ballot boxes, generators filled with fuel, cubicles, newly printed electronic and manual voters register, uncollected Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), materials for the preparations of RAC and other valuable materials were affected,” he said.

    He said the management team led by Alhaji Rasheed Gbadamasi, the Administrative Secretary of the commission in the state, were already on their way to the scene for assessments.

     

  • Petrol tanker fire: Two feared killed, 8 injured in Awka

    No fewer than two persons were confirmed dead and six others injured, when a tanker bearing petrol fell at Amawbia Roundabout in Awka and went up in flames on Saturday night.

    The News Agency of Nigeria learnt from eyewitnesses that at least eight vehicles and some residential buildings within the vicinity were also destroyed in the inferno.

    Eyewitness account said that the fire occurred in front of the Amawbia Fire Service and near the Police Headquarters, Anambra Governor’s Lodge and other public buildings.

    Narrating his experience, one of the victims, Mr Paul Igwemma, whose car got burnt in the fire, said the tanker was negotiating a bend when it fell and subsequently burst into flames.

    Igwemma, who was full of praises to God, said he had to abandon his vehicle and ran for his dear life.

    “I saw the vehicle trying to negotiate to this direction and all of a sudden the tank fell and hit the pavement of the roundabout so I immediately out of my car.

    “Few seconds after, there was an explosion accompanied by fire and as you can see, my car is burnt beyond recognition, together with about ten other vehicles,” he said.

    An eyewitness, Mary Anyaora, who was seen weeping at the scene, said the number of casualties could still be more.

    Anyaora said that many more people were still trapped in their buildings and might not be able to escape from the fire.

    She said that the effect of the fire could have been minimal, if there was an immediate intervention from the Fire Service.

    Confirming the incident, Mr Andrew Kumapayi, Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), blamed the incident on careless driving on the part of the tanker driver.

    Kumapayi said that two persons died, while six others sustained injuries with eight vehicles burnt beyond recognition.

    “The driver did not stop when the tank fell, the incident happened in front of the Fire Service and fire fighters were still making efforts to put out the fire,” he said.

    NAN reports that the fire was still raging at the time of filing the report, while men of the fire service were seen battling to put it out.