This is sad! Two students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) have died in a midnight fire at a Lagos hotel.
Roli
Odogwu, a 200-Level Mass Communication student, and Linda Elegeonye, a
300-Level Law student, died of burns, days after they were trapped in
the hotel room where they were guests.
Until their death, the two students were residents of Fagunwa Hall.
CAMPUSLIFE
gathered that the duo left the campus on Monday to attend an evening
event off-campus. When it dawned on them that they could not return to
the campus late in the night, they reportedly lodged in the hotel to
pass the night.
The late Roli’s friend, who did not want to be
named, said she spoke to her mother to inform her of her decision to
pass the night in the hotel.
It was gathered that the victims were
asleep when the inferno started from a faulty air conditioner.
CAMPUSLIFE learnt that the victims were trapped for several minutes
before they were rescued from the room. They sustained first-degree
burns. They were rushed to Gbagada General Hospital.
Last
Saturday, Roli died at 4am and was buried at Atan Cemetery in Yaba. On
Sunday, news broke that Linda, who had been in coma for six days, had
also died.
A friend, who pleaded for anonymity, said she was
informed about the incident by a policeman who picked up the late Roli’s
call on Tuesday.
She said:
“The policeman told
me that the owner of the phone (Roli) and her friend were involved in a
fire accident and they were unconscious. I was told they had been moved
to Trauma and Burns Unit of the Gbagada General Hospital. I informed
other friends and we went to the hospital. When we got there, we were
not allowed to see them immediately. Three hours after, we were allowed
in with their parents and other family members.
“Roli was
conscious and responding to treatment, but Linda was still in a coma.
The burns were severe and we hoped both could make it. We are deeply
hurt by their death.”