Survivors of Abuja market explosion transferred to National Hospital

• ….as death toll hits 9

Five victims of the Abuja market fire explosion initially taken to Kubwa General Hospital on Friday have been transferred to the National Hospital Abuja.

About nine people are now believed to have lost their lives from the incident, which was triggered by an electrical cable spark that led to the explosion of a kerosene tank around Kubwa market, in Abuja.

Speaking to our reporter yesterday, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Lasisi Muideen, confirmed that five bodies were brought to the hospital on the day of the incident, which took place some minutes after 7pm.

He said of the 11 injured persons admitted in the facility, six had been discharged while five were referred to the Abuja National Hospital following a directive by the FCT minister of state, Dr. Ramatu Aliyu Tijjani, who was there on Saturday.

At the Abuja National Hospital, an official who spoke to Daily Trust correspondent said as of yesterday, four bodies were deposited there, while the total number of injured persons was eight. 

He said they are being taken care of in the burn clinic under the trauma centre of the hospital. 

A delegation of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDERA), the new agency that replaced DPR, was earlier sighted taking data of the victims at the Kubwa site of the incident.