The commercial city of Aba in Abia State witnessed a mishap yesterday
when a six-year-old child died from fumes from a generating set,
while15 others were unconscious. The 16 persons, were among the attendees
of an inter-denominational all- night fellowship at the Young Peoples
Christian Fellowship at No. 5 Eziukwu Road, Aba.
After the vigil, the people were said to have decided to pass the
night at the centre. But as they went to sleep, they left the generating
set on at the corridor and closed the adjourning windows.
Fumes from the generating set was said to have enveloped the hall
while they were asleep, suffocating the six- year-old child whose gender
could not be immediately ascertained to death while 15 others were
unconscious. People only came to know about what happened when a man who brought one of the affected persons to the venue of the vigil
attempted to reach her without success. The man was said to have rushed
to the venue of the vigil and dialled the lady’s phone number, which
rang out without any response and he alerted the police.
The Area Commander for Aba, ACP Peter Wagbara reportedly mobilized
his men who on getting to the scene looked through the glass door and
found the members of the group lying on the floor unconscious.
While the child was found dead, the 15 other persons were still
breathing and police immediately evacuated them to two hospitals within
the area. When police searched the area, they found a generating set
that had exhausted its fuel but was still hot, suggest- ing that its
fumes caused the havoc.
This was more so when it was discovered there
was a noxious odour in the air of the warehouse-turned- church, which
gave them the impression that the worship- ers may have inhaled carbon
monoxide.
Dr Philip Richard, Senior Pastor, Word Alive Assembly, Aba who is the
secretary of pastors from Arochukwu in Aba said the worshipers were all
natives of Ututu in Aro- chukwu LGA. “I was not there but I had a phone
call telling me this morning that the believers from Ututu in Arochukwu
who went to pray in a church in Aba had all died.
“I left all that I was doing to get to the scene of the event. We
have a fellowship of believers of Ututu origin in Aba and they came to
pray for themselves and their commu- nity at this venue.
“But I was not there. They are from various churches and not from one
church. The husband and wife whose child died are from my own church,”
he said. However, those taken to hospital were said to be responding to
treatment.