Kerosene explosion kills teenager in Benin

An explosion suspected to have been caused by adulterated kerosene has killed a 15 year-old boy and injured two others at Ukpebo Street, off Textile Mill Road in Benin, the Edo State capital.



The explosion, which occurred at about 2:30am on Thursday, left a 31 year-old mother of three, Mrs. Loveth Ode, her two year-old son, Wisdom, and her relative, Alfred Omonefe, with varying degrees of burns.

One of the victims, Alfred, 15, however, died en route to the Central Hospital, Benin, while the others are currently receiving treatment at the hospital.

The husband of Mrs. Loveth, Mr. Sunday Ode, 35, told our correspondent that he was away at work when he got a call that his wife, son and nephew had been rush to the accident and emergency ward of the hospital following the explosion.

He said the incident occurred when his wife attempted to refill a lit lantern in the room with kerosene she bought from a roadside seller.

Mr. Ode, a farmer who hails from Ughele North in Delta State, explained that although the fire caused by the explosion did not affect other rooms in the compound, it however, destroyed some of his valuables.