The Ebonyi Fire Service says a four-year-old boy died in a fire incident in Onuebonyi, Abakaliki, the state capital.
The chief fire officer, Raphael Ibiam, said in Abakaliki on Friday that four other persons were hospitalised due to injuries sustained in the fire.
Mr Ibiam said the four injured victims were rushed to the hospital for urgent medical attention.
He promised to provide further information on the extent of the property damage caused by the fire.
Also, Clement Ovuoba, executive secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency, said the agency had deployed a response team to the scene to assess the damage and document the losses.
A witness, Oku Chinagorom, told journalists that the inferno was triggered by a cooking gas explosion in one of the shops at the busy junction in the area.
According to Mr Chinagorom, the fire quickly spread to nearby goods inside the shop.
He explained that the shop owner, popularly known as Mummy Osi, was in the shop at the time, while her husband had travelled a day before.
The witness further stated that in an attempt to rescue her four children, who were inside the shop when the explosion happened, Mama Osi sustained severe burns.
“Sadly, the child who died in the inferno was burnt beyond recognition,” Mr Chinagorom said.
(NAN)