How We Narrowly Escaped Death – Survivors of Kano Explosion Tell Their Story
Aman identified as “Abulkareem Adam Balogun”, a furniture shop owner, in a building that collapsed as a result of explosion in Aba road in Sabon Gari, Fagge Local Government area of Kano State has narrated how he narrowly escaped death after the explosion that went off on Tuesday, Vanguard reports.
Balogun in an exclusive interview with Vanguard on Wednesday near his destroyed shop said he forgot his padlock key to his motorcycle and was on the way returning back after picking the key when he received a call about the incident.
According to him, “We are here together the day before yesterday (Monday) with victims that died from the explosion. We use to sit down together. We use to sit down and chat together.
“I usually come out early and mostly first to arrive shop because I have a shop where I make furniture over there. Usually, when I come I park my machine and lock it. Yesterday, Tuesday, I was on my way coming when I forgot my key to the padlock of my machine. I had to go and pick it. I was on my way returning back and at Ibrahim Taiwo road when I received call from my brother about what happened.
“Around the area, we have welder (an Igbo man) who only uses electricity for his welding and not gas. Anytime he is called for any work, he ask the customer if they have stable electricity to power his equipment and do the welding.
“And there is an Igala man selling Chemicals used for lamination of pictures.
“There is also a vulcanizer here who use to sit together here. So when I came, the vulcanizer told me that someone called him for patching. He stood up and attended to the customer. He was done with that when another called him before the explosion happened.
“I was told the man who looks like a madman came from inside a government school, Rumfa school. Somebody was telling him to leave.
“They said the welder who was among the victims who lost their lives told the madman to go away when the incident happened. The welder don’t use gas because his daughter just came and park his engine and no any gas. He uses electricity. And the man selling chemical, we have been here for a long time no single bottle has never explode that we could say the chemical is the cause,” Balogun said.
He continued when he listed about two persons and more who he confirmed dead.
“A woman who supply ice block and owner of that condemned car lost her life. The daughter of the woman who operates the hair dressing shop and also sells drink is also dead”.
Another survivor, Lukman Yusuf, who operates an electronics shop and whose shop was across the road said he saw part of human being fly from the scene of the incident to where his shop was located.
“I got to my shop some minutes past 8am in the morning. The incident happened some minutes to 9am. I operate electronic shop. I was just bringing my things out and was about powering my generator set when I had a loud sound. The next thing I saw was part of human being fly to near my shop. Initially, I didn’t pay attention to what flew pass me. It was later I saw that it was somebody’s leg. So we rushed to the scene, I
“saw people dead and others injured. Many school children in building opposite where the incident happened were injured. Some of them have been discharged while others were still hospitalized.
“There are some adults who were also hospitalized and others dead. Among those dead is one young girl, Mary who just graduated from Secondary school. Her mother is a hair dresser who is currently hospitalized. Aside hair dressing, they also sell drink in the shop. So the elder sister to the hair dresser who supply ice block also died. We have buried Mary yesterday (Tuesday). We are making arrangements to bury the ice block seller and another lady whose identity I don’t know this evening at the Ahmadiyya burial ground located at brigade by airport road,” Yusuf said.
Another survivor and food vendor, Mistura Abdullateef who spoke to Vanguard from her hospital bed said she was still having issues with her hearing impairment, back and leg pain.
“I want to preparing food when the incident happened. I heard a loud sound and the fence from the collapsed building fell on my leg. Because my shop is beside the building. So I managed to drag myself out.
“The occupant of the upstair, came to me to collect onions to prepare indomie. She do decoration. She was on her way back to the upstairs when my phone rang and I went to receive the call before the explosion went off. So I managed to drag myself out. The next thing was I found myself in the hospital. I don’t even know how I got to the hospital. But my elder sister later followed them here.
“I still feel some sound in my hearing impairment. And feel pain in my back and the injury on my leg. They told me they will do x-ray. But I was told that my case was minor.
“I have opened my shop and we were there with my worker before the incident happened. But no scratch on her body as she was unhurt.
“Nobody is selling chemical there. The next shop to mine was shop of generator and those selling minerals.
“The welder is my neighbor. Usually, we exchanged pleasantries in the morning before we start business. We exchanged pleasantries and he went and sit. He was yet to start work before the incident happened. And he uses electricity and not gas. I learnt he was dead,” Mistura said.
NEMA confirms 9 dead,10 injured in Kano gas explosion
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA said nine persons died and ten others injured in a gas explosion that occurred early morning at Aba Road Sabon Gari Kano State.
