The causalities from the recent fire outbreak that occurred at Linc Oil and Gas tank farm in Calabar has risen from nine to 11, PUNCH reports.
It was reported that at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, seven others were receiving treatment.
Hafiz Inuwa, commissioner of police, Calabar, had on Sunday said that nine people died.
Thomas Agan, chief medical director, UCTH, said nine persons were brought to the hospital in the early hours of Sunday, shortly after the inferno.
According to Agan, “the incident is quite unfortunate. The immediate and remote causes of the fire has yet to be known.
“We admitted a total of nine victims. Seven were admitted into our burns ward and the other two, who had severe threatening conditions, were taken into the Intensive Care Unit. Unfortunately, those two died on Monday.
“Right now, we have seven patients with burns in our custody and they are receiving treatment. The challenge we have is that they were brought in as ordered by the federal government. We had to use all we had to ensure that they were kept alive. Our consumables are exhausted.”
He said having patients with 60 to 90 per cent burns was not an easy situation.
Agan said apart from the state Commissioner of Police and other security agencies that had come to visit the victims, no person had shown interest in footing their medical bills.
“We need massive assistance, not only from the Federal Government, but from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and all the organisations involved in this matter,” he said.
Asuquo Okon, one of the victims, said he was looking up to God for survival, appealing to concerned individuals to come to his aid.
Meanwhile, Itaya Nyong, the state Commissioner for Petroleum, said the state government would carry out a thorough investigation into the remote and immediate causes of the incident.
“We intend to embark on an investigation, and at the appropriate time, the machinery will be put in motion to assess the level of damage, establish culpability and certainly take action,” he said.
By Tony Nwanne
