The owner of the gas refilling shop that exploded, inflicting multiple injuries on many in the Orazi axis of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State has died after succumbing to injuries.
Recall that 18 persons suffered various degrees of burns when the incident occurred over a fortnight ago.
Four persons, including a man simply identified as Ayo and his daughter died previously, with the latest bringing the total death figure now to five (two males and three females).
The family of one of the victims who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the incident disclosed the death of the shop owner to newsmen in Port Harcourt, the state capital on Thursday.
He said the owner, identified as Chidi, died on Wednesday evening at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital in Port Harcourt.
He stated, “The owner of the gas shop just gave up on Wednesday night. His name is Mr Chidi. Already we lost Ayo and his daughter and the other girl, Chinda. There is a young girl, her mother who is a widow is also dead. But the rest are responding to treatment.”
He, however, said the cost of treatment was biting hard on them and called on the state government to come to the aid of the other hospitalised victims.
“It is just that we have to go to the next level of care which is quite expensive in terms of dressing, high level of antibiotics with some costing up to N25,000 each person and each has to take like three bottles per day.,” he said.
He said the other hospitalised victims are yet to receive any financial support apart from the initial support given to them by the Chairman of Obio/Akpor LG, Chijioke Ihunwo.
He faulted claims that the state government was providing the victims with free medical care, saying, “Except for the N1 million given to all the patients, the government is supposed to intervene but we don’t know.”
But addressing newsmen at her office in Port Harcourt on Thursday, the state Commissioner for Health, Adaeze Oreh, insisted that the state government was footing the medical bills for all the victims taken to the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital.
Oreh also confirmed the death of the fifth (owner of the gas refilling shop) victim which she described as painful but explained that neither he nor any of the dead victims passed on as a result of lack of care, as they were given prompt response and top-notch treatment.
“Regarding the recent tragic gas explosion that had multiple members of the Orazi community severely injured and some in very critical condition, last week I accompanied Her Excellency the Deputy Governor to visit the patients at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital.
“We saw all the patients on admission and while we prayed that all the patients who had survived up till that point would still be with us today,” the commissioner said.