A pregnant house wife, Adama Usman, 28 and her two children, Taslim, 5 and Taslima 7 lost their lives in a fire incident occasioned by electric surge in Angwar Biri area of Minna town, Niger state on Sunday.
The Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) said the incident was as a result of high voltage from the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).
Residents said the light went off at about 10 pm last night and was restored at an hour later with high voltage which triggered sparks and the resultant fire incident.
According to them, the family was asleep when smoke engulfed the entire residence as a result of fire from one of the electrical appliances, adding that by the time the woman woke up, it was already too late.
The younger brother to the husband of the deceased, Malam Danjuma Mustapha said he was in his own parlour when he heard the woman shouting for help.
“We rushed to the house which was already engulfed in heavy smoke. We tried to open the door open but the fire was already too much,” he explained.
Daily Trust learnt that, although men of the State Fire Service got to the scene with four trucks, they could not access the scene due to the unplanned nature of the area.
“By the time the Fire Service men put out the fire, the woman and her two children were already burnt beyond recognition,” a neighbour, Malam Abubakar Muhammad said.
Malam Usman Mustapha, the husband to late Adama and father of the house could barely control himself during the funeral prayers of the victims on Monday.
The Deputy Governor, Ahmed Ketso, who was at the area to commiserate with the family, decried the incessant accidents in the area through power surge by the AEDC, promising to liaise with the Company to find lasting solution to the recurring crisis.
Daily Trust recalls that the area has long history of power surge which started in 2003 and 2017 respectively with loss of lives and property.
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