Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River has promised succour for the victims of the gas explosion that occurred at Edibe Edibe Street in Calabar South Local Government Area on Saturday.
The governor made the promise when he led some members of his cabinet to assess the extent of damage caused by the explosion that affected several buildings and a filling station.
While noting that the damage was huge, the governor described the incident as “unfortunate.”
“What I have seen here is shocking. It’s a huge damage. I know very well this kind of facility should not be in a residential area, but unfortunately, this one is here.
“I believe that things have to be done to safeguard these kinds of occurrences the next time.
“But we have several casualties now in the hospital, and we also have people’s houses that are damaged. I think the government is going to do something about it very quickly.
“In fact, we are saying free medical treatment for those who have had issues here, and then we look at issues of compensation to see how people can get back to their lives as quickly as possible,” he promised.
Meanwhile, the state police command confirmed that 38 persons sustained various degrees of burns in the gas explosion.
The spokesman for the command, ASP Sunday Eitokpah, who gave the confirmation, however, said no death was recorded.
The police said leakage caused the explosion in a densely populated area of Calabar.
He said that at approximately 10:00 a.m., the explosion occurred while an attendant attempted to transfer gas from the storage tank to the service tank.
“During the operation, the hose detached, causing gas fumes to leak into the surrounding area. All attempts to secure the storage tap were unsuccessful, and the attendant had to evacuate immediately.
“The leak happened rapidly, leaving insufficient time to warn nearby residents.
“The area was engulfed in flames, resulting in significant property damage, the value of which is currently unquantified,” the police spokesperson said.
The inferno consumed major sections of the station, including its fuel dump and vehicles parked on the premises.
(NAN)