Mr Chinweoda Ndubuisi, a pastor with
Foursquare Gospel Church in Umuahia, the Abia capital,died in an
explosion from a faulty generator in his residence, PM News reports.
Confirming his
death, Mr Ogbonnaya Nta, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in
Abia,said that Ndubuisi was trapped in the fire resulting from the
explosion
which occurred in the presence of a generator repairer while trying to
fix the generator.
Nta said that on Wednesday evening,the deceased engaged the repairer to work on the generating
set and that it suddenly caught fire while they were still trying to
kick-start it.
According to the PPRO, fire and smoke engulfed the
corner under a staircase, where the generator was securely chained to an
iron protector.
He said that while the repairer, who reportedly stood close to the exit door managed to escape, the deceased could not.
A
friend of the deceased said on the condition of anonymity on phone that
although his neighbours rallied round to put out the fire, it was
difficult to rescue the deceased.
He said that efforts made to
drag the burning generator from under the staircase by the rescue team
were unsuccessful because it was chained.
“By the time the fire
was put out completely, the man was already dead,” Nta said, adding that
his remains were later taken to a mortuary after he was confirmed dead
by a medical doctor.
“He died on the spot from burns and suffocation from the generator fume,” he said.
The
repairer sustained minor burns on his hands and other parts of his body
and was taken to an undisclosed hospital in the area.