Favour Ozioma Ogbodo
Loss of lives have been reported after a fire outbreak gutted a section of the Canadian High Commission in Abuja.
President Bola Tinubu has reacted to the sad incident, assuring that the Nigerian government will give necessary aid to the diplomatic and local staff of the High Commission.
The Monday fire happened at the High Commission located on Palm close, Diplomatic drive, Central Business District of the Federal Capital (FCT), leaving two persons dead and another two injured.
Confirming the incident to the Punch, the Head of Operations of the FCT Fire Service, Amiola Adebayo, told our correspondent in a phone interview that two people were fatally injured in the incident, while about three or four other victims had been rushed to hospitals.
“Yes, yes, it’s true. We have two fatally injured and the others in the hospital, either three or four,” he said.
A statement by the Head of Public Affairs of the FCT Emergency Management Agency, Nkechi Isa, disclosed that the incident was caused by a diesel explosion in the generator house of the Canadian Embassy, leaving two persons fatally injured, while two other victims had been rushed to the Trauma Centre of the National Hospital Abuja.
Isa noted that the incident occurred at about 10:30 a.m. on Monday morning when a five-man team from a JMD company went in to service the Mikano generators used by the Embassy.
“A diesel tank explosion in the generator house at the Canadian Embassy in the Federal Capital Territory has left two persons dead and two hospitalized at the National Hospital Trauma Centre with severe burns. The incident happened at about 10:45 am today.”
Meanwhile, President Tinubu, in a release issued on Monday by his Media Adviser, Ajuri Ngelale, sympathised with the Canadian government, diplomatic community, and all persons affected by a fire incident which occurred on Monday at the Canadian High Commission in Abuja.
He prayed for the repose of the departed souls and wished all injured persons a rapid and full recovery.
