Father, mother, 2 kids die in a fire caused by a power surge in Taraba State
Oredola Adeola
A family of four, consisting of a father, mother, and their two teenage children, lost their lives in a devastating fire incident caused by a power surge that occurred in their home, in the Dinyavo area of Jalingo, Taraba State, around 11 am. on Monday, October 2, 2023, after the electricity transformer in the area blew up.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Authority (NERC) and Taraba State Police Command confirmed this in separate statements released.
NERC in a statement released on Tuesday extended condolences to the family members and the community affected by the terrible loss, whilst reassuring that the matter shall be instigated thoroughly to identify the immediate and remote causative factors.
It said, “The management of Yola Electricity Distribution Plc, responsible for service in the area has been contacted and they are currently conducting an investigation into the accident.
It also noted that its Accident Investigation Team (AIT) has been constituted and the members are currently on their way to the scene of the accident to conduct the regulatory investigation.
Earlier, Abdullahi Usman, State Police Command Public Relations Officer on his part said the fatalities were a result of a suspected power surge.
He said, “At about 1100hrs on 2/10/2023, information received from a reliable source revealed that a house located in the Dinyavoh area of Jalingo was on fire.
“Detectives from GRA division Taraba command were deployed to the scene. On arrival, it was discovered that a family of four were found lying with burns all over their body suspected to be electrocution.
“The victims are Mr. Remond Ofonbuk, M’ 44, Mrs. Mfonbong Remond F’, Hevean Remond M’ 15yrs and First Remond F’ 13 yrs old.
“Information has it that as power was restored, the transformer in the area blew up and many houses within the neighbourhood experienced high electric voltage which led to the fire outbreak that inflicted burns on the victims.
“However, detectives evacuated the victims to FMC Jalingo for treatment, but they were confirmed dead by the medical doctor at the FMC.”
Usman therefore stated that the corpse of the victims had been deposited at the hospital’s mortuary for autopsy while investigation has commenced to ascertain the real cause of the incide
