From Abubakar Sadiq Mohd Zaria
No fewer than 11 people were feared dead following a power surge in the Zazzau area of Kaduna State.
Areas affected include Gwargwaje and Kauran juli situated along Zaria-Kaduna Expressway.
A resident of the area, said power was restored to the area around 1am on Wednesday in high voltage, thereby causing sparks of electric gadgets which led to a fire outbreak.
It was learnt that the house of one Engineer Zubair Abubakar was burnt while other houses were in smoke.
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Daily Trust gathered that those killed include a pregnant woman, health personnel, a police officer and many others all in Gwargwaje area.
Details of those that lost their lives in Kauran juli has not been ascertained.
A community leader, Alhaji Bature Aliyu, told journalists that the fire affected all the houses in the three communities, the police barracks, the New Layout Unguwar Major Aliyu and the New Kauran Juli layout.
He said, ”Electricity was restored late in the night with high voltage, which caught fire that spread to the communities. All the transformers, high tension and service lines were on fire. Anywhere you touched was shocking until when the power was cut off from the source.”
Head of Corporate Communication of Kaduna Electric, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, in a statement, expressed sadness over the incident.
He said a preliminary investigation showed that the incident was as a result of high-tension line that snapped on the low-tension line, leading to a high voltage supply.
“The source feeder was immediately opened on emergency to avoid further damage.
“Kaduna Electric expresses the deepest sympathy to the families who encountered losses as a result of the incident.”
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