Three People Die In Church Inferno

 

 

Three people were killed in the inferno that razed Mercyland Prayers Ministry, Oke-Itunu, Ibadan, Oyo State on Monday.

Eyewitnesses said the deceased were sleeping in the church when the fire, which started around 1.45am, trapped them in the building.

Four others, including a pregnant woman were said to have escaped.

“The fire started outside the building and spread to the generator which was running and filled with petrol. There was a loud bang and the church building was engulfed in flames which spread fast,” said a witness who did not give his name.

He added that those who died could not escape as the fire blocked the entrance while smoke also filled the building.

The witness said the victims might have been unconscious after inhaling the smoke and might be too tired to fight their way out.

One of the survivors, who identified himself as Akin, said the dead were church members who slept  while observing prayer session in the church.

He said, “There was little space for escape because the smoke blinded us. I was lucky to come out alive.”

The fire was put out around 4am after the arrival of the men of the Oyo State Fire Services, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Nigeria Police.