Corpses Burn As Fire Guts Mortuary In Benue

An uncertain number of human bodies have been consumed after an inferno gutted the mortuary at the Agagbe Community in Gwer-West Local Government Area of Benue State.

Naija News learnt that the fire started in the late hours of Friday, burning to ashes the bodies deposited at the morgue.

A resident of the community, Mr Ikyur, who gave a brief description of the incident to newsmen on Saturday, said the cause of the fire incident has not been unravelled, saying “it was a shock to everyone”.

Barely a month ago, about four hundred corpses were reportedly consumed by a bush fire at the mortuary section of the General Hospital, Onitsha, Anambra State.

The sad development left many families in tears after beholding the remains of their loved ones being burnt to ashes.

Naija News learnt that the fire emanated from a burning bush behind the morgue and escalated into the hospital facility before it received attention.

Mortuary attendants are said to have responded to the fire by pouring water mixed with detergent to douse the flame but could not curtail the damage.

The PUNCH Metro had reported that the hospital management later called the state fire service after the fire had escalated.

Some, who had come to carry their corpses for burial, burst into tears when they saw that the mortuary was in ruins, the reports added.

“We came to take the corpse of a community member for burial only for us to see that the corpses in the morgue had been burnt beyond recognition. We are confused; we don’t know what to do,” the report quoted one of the mourners, Charles Ozor, as saying.