2 Students Die In Delta Tank Explosion

Two students of Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) Effurun, Delta State are among five bodies recovered by local divers at the scene of fire incident at Matrix Energy Group, Ifiekporo in Warri South local government area.

The explosion occurred on Friday, July 8, 2022.

The victims, who were National Diploma graduates of PTI, Comrade Omare Sunny and Comrade Godstime Chuks, from Mechanical Engineering department and Petroleum Engineering department respectively, lost their lives in the disaster.

The Student Union Government (SUG) of PTI made this known in a statement mourning the deceased.

While Matrix Energy had released a statement, claiming there were no casualties 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, urged Matrix to debunk the “misguided information” and reach out to the family of the deceased students.

Local divers had recovered five bodies who drowned while fleeing for safety during the Matrix Tank Farm explosion

The victims, 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 flame.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the victims were said to have drowned while fleeing for their safety.

The corpses of the deceased were said to have been deposited at morgue in Warri on Sunday.

Matrix Group head of safety, Fred Olomuro, confirmed that five persons who drowned while fleeing for safety had been recovered.