The ever-busy Kabong area of Gada Biyu community of Jos North local government area of Plateau State woke up to a devastating disaster in the early hours of Saturday following an explosion which occurred around 2am claiming the lives of about seven persons while several others sustained injuries.
Our Correspondent reports that the explosion, which occurred from a power transformer, triggered a huge fire outbreak that ravaged the vicinity and caused widespread panic and fear among the residents in the area.
According to an eyewitness, who did not want his name in print, he said death toll from the incident has reached seven, and numerous homes and shops lie in ruins, with destroyed property estimated to be in millions of Naira.
“Tragically, two of the deceased individuals were from the same family, compounding the grief for their loved ones,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Jos Electricity Distribution Plc has reacted to the disaster, saying it was saddened by the unfortunate incident which occured in the early hours of Saturday affecting customers on its Kabong Primary Distribution Transformer in the Kabong area of Rukuba Road in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
A statement issued in Jos by the company’s head of corporate communications, Dr. Friday Adakole Elijah, said preliminary investigation revealed that the accident was as a result of a high-tension line snap into the low-tension lines, which resulted in a voltage supply outside limit.
According to the statement, an evaluation of the root cause was underway, and appropriate measures will be put in place to avert future occurrence while expressing the power company’s deepest sympathy to families who have encountered losses as a result of the incident.
