A fire outbreak on Saturday killed a 66-year-old woman, Veronica Okwuogu in Awka, the Anambra State capital.
The cause of the fire incident could not be ascertained as of the time of filing this report.
An eyewitness told our correspondent that the incident which occurred at about 10:30 a.m. on Saturday in a residential building saw the deceased trapped.
“Fire service people were nowhere to be found. Before help could come to the old woman, she had been burnt beyond recognition”, the source stated.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the State, Haruna Mohammed, confirmed the incident to our correspondent.
He said, “At about 10:30 a.m., there was a fire incident at a residential quarter behind MACDONS Amuda village Awka in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State.
“Police patrol team attached to Central Police Station Awka visited the scene and cordoned off the area to prevent looters from taking advantage of the situation to loot and the fire was put off by local volunteers in the area.
“However, one Mrs Okwuogu Veronica Chinwe, aged about 66-years-old was trapped in the inferno.
“She sustained varying degrees of burns. She was rushed to Regina Celi hospital for treatment but was certified dead on arrival by a medical doctor.
“Corpse was deposited at the hospital morgue for autopsy.
“Cause of the fire incident is yet unknown and an investigation is ongoing to ascertain circumstances surrounding the incident”, Mohammed stated.
