Two students of Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun, were among the five bodies recovered by local divers after a fire incident at Matric Energy Group in Ifiekporo of Warri South local government area of Delta State.
The explosion occurred on Friday, the July 8, 2022.
The two National Diploma (ND) graduates of PTI, Comr. Omare Sunny and Comr. Godstime Chuks, who were undergoing their industrial training (IT) from Mechanical Engineering and Petroleum Engineering Departments of the institution, respectively, lost their lives in the explosion.
The Student Union Government (SUG) of PTI made this known in a statement to mourn the deceased.
While Matrix Energy had released a statement, claiming there was no casualty and Delta State government in its preliminary report had on Saturday disclosed that no death was recorded by the company while confirming that 12 persons were injured and receiving treatment at the Ogiame Ikenwoli Hospital, Ubeji, the PTI SUG in its statement, however, urged Matrix Energy to debunk the “misguided information” and reach out to the families of the deceased students.
Recall that local divers recovered five lifeless bodies of the victims, who drowned while fleeing to safety after the Matrix Tank Farm explosion.
The five persons, whose identities were not immediately ascertained, were recovered on Sunday along the bank of Warri River.
It was gathered that the five deceased were among those who were scampering for safety when the gas section of the tank farm went up in flames.
The corpses of the deceased were said to have been deposited at a morgue in Warri on Sunday.
Matrix Group Head of Safety, Mr. Fred Olomuro, confirmed that five persons who drowned while fleeing for safety had been recovered.
“Today (Sunday), local divers from our host community recovered five lifeless bodies that drowned probably while fleeing for safety during the fire incident on Friday. Where they died is some distance from the scene of the fire,” he stated.
