Residents of Bodija housing estate in Ibadan may have began counting their losses from a deadly explosion that rocked the Oyo’s city on Tuesday evening, leaving dozens of people badly injured, and tearing over 20 building apart, including vehicles and other belongings.
Eventhough the cause of the explosion is yet to be ascertained, rescue teams and other concerned residents lend hands in searching for injured people from the wrecked buildings some of which were confirmed to have been taken to hospital for proper treatment.
Eyewitnesses claimed that first set of victims rescued after the explosion were severally injured and shock from incident would not allow other residents in some nearby areas come close to the tragic scene.
They said that the panic was serious after the tragedy, been the first time Ibadan residents were witnessing such a devastating explosion, and that non of the victims could say what could be the cause of the explosion as at time of rescuing them from the places.
One of the eyewitnesses who live close to affected area, disclosed that he counted 17 houses suspected to have come under fire as a result of the explosion, just as he claimed that several vehicles were damaged, and that he witnessed victims been removed from the scene.
The man who spoke to The Guild, said that rescue team did their best by arriving at the area early enough and searches for victims were conducted professionally with help of members of publics including relatives of people affected.
“People help those injured, they removed them from their affected houses and rushed them to hospitals where they will get first hand medical treatments. These actions happened almost immediate after the incident”.
“The explosion happened in my area, i visit the place and i did not count any dead bodies, but i counted no fewer than 17 houses that were affected by the explosion. Other property including vehicles and other belong were also damaged”, he added.
A middle age woman who identified herself as a relative to one of the victims, claimed that she heard heavy sound at her place, about five kilometers journey to Bodija where the explosion had occurred, but she disregarded the sound because she never believed such stuff could hit her loved ones until she was phoned that her cousin was involved in the explosion.
She narrated how she rush to explosion scene and joined rescue team in remove her helpless cousin who she claimed was yet to gain conscious just as several other victims as result of the panic’
He said: “We removed my cousin and his co-tenants from their house and non of them could say a world because they were badly injured. It will take them sometime to come back to their normal senses, and not everyone of them will regain themselves for a very long time”.
The Oyo State Government, reacting to the explosion, sympathized with the victims, just as it promised to investigate the cause of the explosion though it did not inform if there was any casualties.
“Relevant agencies are carrying out search and rescue operations at the scene of the incident. Residents of the state are urged to remain calm as the Oyo State Government is on top of the situation,” Oyo state said in a statement.
Earlier, the state’s commissioner for information, Dotun Oyelade, confirmed that residents of Ibadan and immediate environ experienced uncommon explosion which occurred on Tuesday evening and that government officials have been positioned on ground to provide needed assistance.
