No lives lost, few injured in Yabatech fire incident, lectures and exams postponed till further notice
Students of Bakasi Hall, a female hostel in Yaba College of Technology (YabaTech), Lagos woke up to a rude shock as fire engulfed a better part of their hostel around 5 a.m today.
Panic ensued as the frightened students all scrambled to safety, before Lagos State Fire Service arrived to put out the fire almost an hour later.
The incident, according to eyewitnesses who spoke with NewsroomNG, started as a result of an electric surge in one of the rooms in the hostel.
A few students suffered minor injuries and were taken to the school’s medical center, but no lives were lost to the incident.
“Immediately they put on the school generator, that was when the fire started. It was as a result of electric surge,” a witness said.
“Several female students were injured and were taken to the school’s medical center,” the witness further said, confirming that there are no casualties lost in the fire.
Another witness, a female student who spoke on conditions of anonymity, said she was only alerted to the incident by a sudden noise that arose as a result of the rush of students attempting to descend the burning building.
“I just woke up from my sleep, and I heard vibrations, people running. I just ran out of the room,” she said, also confirming no one was trapped in the fire.
Another witness who also spoke on a condition of anonymity, said some of the students fainted as a result of shock, while two others would not be able to write their exams today.
“The occupants of the rooms were in the library reading when it happened, and by the time they came back everything was gone,” the witness told us.
“Most people, about four or five of them, fainted out of shock.
“As a result, two students among them can’t write their exams today,” he said.
Students in their 3rd year of National Diploma have however lamented that their session which was supposed to end this year, will now drag into next year, as lectures and exams in the institution have been postponed till further notice.
Attempts by NewsroomNG to speak with men from the fire service department didn’t yield any result, as they insisted on completing the evacuation process before giving a report.
