20-Year-Old Girl Killed In Fire Accident Hours After Taking JAMB Exam

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News, News From The State Sunday, March 15th, 2015

FROM IGNATIUS OKPARA, Abakaliki – A mysterious fire which gutted about 68 rooms in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state, has sent a 20- year old girl, identified as Mercy Elom, to her untimely grave, hours after she sat for this year’s JAMB examination.

The fire also destroyed properties valued at several millions.

The deceased, our Correspondent gathered was among the candidates, who wrote this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

Until her sudden demise, Mercy was an apprentice at a popular ICT centre located at a pastoral institute in Abakaliki.

Miss Elom, who hailed from Onuenyim Agbaja in Izzi Local Government, squatted with her friend, who had travelled.

Sources told African Examiner that the inferno, which started about 1am, happened in a building with over 100 rooms, located at 40, Igwe Liga Street, Mile 50, Abakaliki.

Meanwhile, the ugly incident has thrown the entire neighbourhood into anxiety and shock

A tenant in the affected building, who gave his name as Mr. Aleke Celestine, lamented the loss of his vital documents to the fire, just as he appealed to the government to come to their assistance.

Some of the items perished in the fire included motorcycles, tricycles, documents, refrigerators, electrical appliances, among others.

One of the victims, whose father owns the building, Mr. Elias Igwe, told newsmen that he was sleeping when noise from residents about the inferno woke him up.

“People were shouting fire, fire. This woke me up. I came downstairs and saw everywhere engulfed by fire.

“We tried to put it out, but we were helpless because it overpowered us. I contacted the state fire service with the help of the Divisional Police Officer, Kpirikpiri, but the bad road leading to our house affected their movement.

“Before they arrived, the fire had gutted about 50 rooms.”

“While some of the tenants salvaged a few of their property, others were not so lucky, especially the health workers and security officers, who were on night duty.