Benin: Kerosine Explosion Kills 15-yr-old Boy

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A 15-year-old boy was, in the early hours of Thursday, killed in Textile Mill area of Benin City, Edo State, by a kerosene explosion. A woman, Mrs Loveth Odeh and his five-year-old son, identified as Wisdom, also suffered severe burns from the inferno that followed the explosion and are currently receiving medical attention at the Benin Central Hospital.

Mrs Odeh, who provided details of the explosion, explained that the incident occurred at about 3.00 a.m., when she was refilling the kerosine inside her lamp, after she discovered that the lamp was almost extinguishing. The woman also expressed the belief that the kerosine was adulterated.

“There was no light and I put on my lamp. I tried to refill it. It was when I was refilling that the whole thing exploded.

“Before I knew what was happening, it was fire all over me and the whole place was filled with smoke,” she said.

Her husband, Mr Sunday Odey, 35, said he was away from home when the explosion occurred, adding that he lost all his belongings in his one-room apartment.

Odey, who regretted the death of his nephew, urged government for financial assistance.

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