Properties worth millions of naira were destroyed in a fire outbreak that emanated from a female hostel at the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Sunday evening.
The incident, caused by a cooking stove fire that caught up with a gas being used by another student, led to an explosion that caused panic among students in the entire hostel environment.
According to a student of the school, the fire started just before nightfall on Sunday from a kerosene stove used by a student to cook in her room.
She said the fire spread rapidly when another female student nearby was cooking with gas, resulting in an explosion and causing pandemonium.
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It was learnt that although no lives were lost, many personal belongings and properties of female students were destroyed in the fire.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Okey Onochukwu, confirmed that fire services from the Nigerian Navy and the Federal Fire Service arrived promptly and were able to extinguish the fire.