At least seven persons were injured and property worth millions of naira were destroyed on Sunday after a cooking gas cylinder exploded and kindled a fire at No. 23, Emmanuel Church road, Inland Town Onitsha.
The incident which occurred at about 10:30a.m., destroyed two rooms in a flat attached to a one-storey building belonging to one Patty Mbamalu.
An eyewitness, Okey Okwudili said that the fire was caused by a gas leakage.
He said that it took the timely intervention of youths to save the entire building from being consumed by the inferno.
An occupant of the building, Micheal Okafor, whose family members were affected, expressed shock at the incident, saying that he was not at home when the incident occurred.
Okafor said that three of his children, his wife, and three of his neighbours sustained serious injury and had been taken to hospital for treatment.
Confirming the incident, Haruna Mohammed, spokesman for the Police Command in the state, said that the victims had been taken to Boromeo and Minas hospitals in Onitsha for medical attention.