Five persons were reportedly electrocuted on Tuesday at Rumuorosi clan in Rumuigbo, Obio/Akpor Local Government of Rives State, after a transformer exploded.
An eyewitness, Mr. Allwell Michael, said power was cut after the transformer exploded and when it was restored, the voltage was too high.
He said: “The transformer exploded and they still brought light immediately. The voltage was so high that people rushed to switch off their gadgets. One man was fetching water when the thing happened, he rushed to put off his light but immediately he touched the switch, his white eyes came out and he died there. Five people died in the incident.”
The Chairman of Rumuorosi Community Development Committee, Comrade Emmanuel Womanda, noted that the incident caused panic.
Womanda blamed the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) for the incident.
According to him, when youths protested to the office of the electricity firm, the workers fled.
“I just woke up and saw people running up and down because people were being electrocuted. The current was too high, in fact it was overflowing and it is PHED’s fault.
“The light killed one shoe cobbler and a couple at Womanda Street. We went to the police to report but when we got to PHED’s office, they all ran away. The police came when we blocked the road to hear us out,” Womanda.
The management of PHED has condoled with families that lost their loved ones.
PHED’s Communication Manager Mr. John Onyi who spoke with The Nation after a meeting with stakeholders, described the incident as an accident.
Onyi said: “We send our heartfelt condolence to families of the victims. It was an accident, not an intentional act. We want the residents to allow us investigate what actually happened. The place was volatile when the incident happened, that was why we could not enter.”
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