Imported User:
Tragedy struck on Monday morning in Apata-Ganga area of Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, as a PHCN high tension wire fell and killed five people.
The incident, which occurred at the popular Agbekoja market at about 6:am, claimed a pregnant woman, a nursing mother as well as three others.
A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent , who visited the scene of the incident, gathered that traders were busy in their transaction at the vegetable section of the market when the wire suddenly fell on them.
Speaking with NAN, Mr Wahab Bamidele , a youth leader in the area, said that PHCN cables in the area were aged and one fell as a result of the early morning rain.
Bamidele, who led a rescue mission to the area, said a similar incident occurred in December 2011 when two people were killed.
A one-year-old baby boy was, however, fortunate as he was rescued alive from the scene of the incident.
Other traders, who were at the spot, sustained injuries and were rushed to the hospital for medical treatment.
The chairman of the traders association in the market, Mr Rafiu Raji, described the incident as tragic.
"This is not the first time this kind of things will happened. We have contacted the chairman of Aba Alamu Association and written to PHCN severally, but noting was done about it, " he said.
Mr Jide Oyenuga, PHCN Public Relations Officer, told NAN that external investigators had been deployed to investigate the incident
The Police spokesperson, Mrs Bisi Ilobanafor, confirmed the incident, saying five people died while two survived and were receiving treatment.
