Adeleke, a survivor of the Bodija explosion in Ibadan, Oyo State, has described how the horrific event claimed his brother.
Ten people lost their lives and 77 more were injured in the blast, according to state governor Seyi Makinde.
According to Adeleke, who talked with Lagelu FM, a local radio station, they were playing tennis at the hotel when his brother had to go take care of things. The explosion created a lot of commotion and sent a sharp object flying, cutting a severe gash in his stomach.
He named his deceased brother as Oladipupo and mentioned that he was sent to Adeoyo General Hospital right away following the event.
He said,
“He came out to the front of the transformer where the incident happened. His intestines were out after the cut.”
Another survivor, Olaitan Okanlawon, said the incident happened around 7 pm after hearing a strange sound and vibration.
She added,
“I was inside with my husband and kids. And we started hearing strange sounds and vibrations, it was not clear until we began to see rubbles, outside the window.
“One of my kids has a cut on his head and is being attended to, we have moved out our stuff to the hotel.”
Reacting to the incident, the state governor, Seyi Makinde, said preliminary investigations by security agencies revealed that explosive devices stored by illegal miners caused the explosion that rocked the area.
Makinde, who visited the explosion scene Tuesday night, said that though further investigations were still ongoing, anyone found culpable would be brought to book.