One
of the survivors of the multiple explosions in Sabon Gari Motor Park,
Kano, Emy Osodi, yesterday recounted how he escaped death from the
explosions that took place on Monday.
An official of a leading telecommunications coy, Osodi disclosed that he
was a passenger in one of the bombed Lagos-bound luxurious buses. His
last-minute decision to charge his low battery phone saved his life, he
said.
According to the survivor, he had just commenced his two-week leave and
was looking forward to celebrating the Easter with his family in Lagos.
Staying away from home for almost six months is not his usual way but,
due to his tight schedule, he had not been able to visit his family in a
while.
So, he decided to pay his family a surprise visit by taking the
Lagos-bound night bus from Kano to arrive in the morning of Tuesday, but
fate had other plans.
A colleague had dropped him off at the park and they spent a few minutes
talking about how they would spend the Easter in Lagos. He bought his
ticket and secured a seat inside the luxurious bus after his colleague
had driven off.
The park was busy as usual with hawkers moving from bus to bus looking
for buyers of their wares, travellers queuing to buy tickets, kids
playing around and family members saying goodbyes to loved ones.
“It was going to be a long journey and my battery was low. So, I
alighted from the bus to charge my phone in a shop as the driver was
still awaiting more passengers. Some minutes later, I heard a loud
noise; more explosions followed.
I turned only to see fire caused by the explosion from buses including
the bus I alighted from.
It was beyond belief. People, luggage, buses and shops were burning. As
people looked for escape routes, the dead and dying people were trampled
upon.
“I stood where I was, shivering and trying to recover from the shock and
fear that I would have been in one of the buses that exploded,” Osodi
said.
ref merry bet
Thursday 21 March 2013
KANO EXPLOSION: HOW LOW PHONE BATTERY SAVED MY LIFE - SURVIVOR
One
of the survivors of the multiple explosions in Sabon Gari Motor Park,
Kano, Emy Osodi, yesterday recounted how he escaped death from the
explosions that took place on Monday.
An official of a leading telecommunications coy, Osodi disclosed that he
was a passenger in one of the bombed Lagos-bound luxurious buses. His
last-minute decision to charge his low battery phone saved his life, he
said.
According to the survivor, he had just commenced his two-week leave and
was looking forward to celebrating the Easter with his family in Lagos.
Staying away from home for almost six months is not his usual way but,
due to his tight schedule, he had not been able to visit his family in a
while.
So, he decided to pay his family a surprise visit by taking the
Lagos-bound night bus from Kano to arrive in the morning of Tuesday, but
fate had other plans.
A colleague had dropped him off at the park and they spent a few minutes
talking about how they would spend the Easter in Lagos. He bought his
ticket and secured a seat inside the luxurious bus after his colleague
had driven off.
The park was busy as usual with hawkers moving from bus to bus looking
for buyers of their wares, travellers queuing to buy tickets, kids
playing around and family members saying goodbyes to loved ones.
“It was going to be a long journey and my battery was low. So, I
alighted from the bus to charge my phone in a shop as the driver was
still awaiting more passengers. Some minutes later, I heard a loud
noise; more explosions followed.
I turned only to see fire caused by the explosion from buses including
the bus I alighted from.
It was beyond belief. People, luggage, buses and shops were burning. As
people looked for escape routes, the dead and dying people were trampled
upon.
“I stood where I was, shivering and trying to recover from the shock and
fear that I would have been in one of the buses that exploded,” Osodi
said.
