At least four children have been confirmed dead with two others receiving treatment at the hospital in Oke Igbo in Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State when a newly installed power cable fell on a container turned shop.
It was gathered that the victims including two siblings who visited their aunt for holiday were playing inside the shop when the cable fell on the iron container.
One of the survivors who identified herself as Blessing said: “We were playing and suddenly, power was restored. So, we shouted ‘up NEPA but we heard the sparking sound inside the shop and we ran out.
But not knowing that the new cable wire had cut and fallen on my mummy’s container, the wire trapped our legs as we walked out and we could not walk again.
So, I sat on a plank that was close to me, but the remaining children started shaking and vomiting blood. I shouted for help and people came to rescue us and we were rushed to the General hospital, Ile-Oluji,”
Speaking, the owner of the shop, Mrs Ronke Adebiyi, said she was not around when the incident happened but said she had to rush back to the shop to meet all the six children unconscious.
She explained that “In the evening, I received a call that my shop was burning. So, I ran down to check on my children. On getting there, I saw people gathered and I kept asking about my children. Later, one of them, Blessing ran out of the shop, but the others were lying on the floor.
“They were rushed to the hospital, but there was no sufficient oxygen they could use for five of them. So, four of them gave up the ghost. But the case of the sixth child was not critical as she can walk and talk.
“The remaining two were taken to Trauma Centre in Ondo for treatment. One has been discharged, but the second child has been referred to OAU Teaching Hospital in Ile Ife for treatment. Two out of the four children are my sister’s daughter. They came for holiday.”
Lamenting the incident, the lawmaker representing Ondo South at the National Assembly, Senator Nicholas Tofowomo, described the incident as unfortunate
