The remains of five persons have been recovered from a river in the aftermath of the explosion that rocked the Matrix Energy Tank Farm at Ifie community, Delta State.
The lifeless bodies were recovered by local divers on Sunday afternoon along the Warri river bank. However, the identities of the victims were yet to be ascertained as of press time.
The discovery of the dead bodies is coming just a day after a delegation of the Delta State Government said no life was lost to the inferno.
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The delegation certified 12 persons injured that were admitted at the Ogiame Ikenwoli Hospital, Ubeji for treatment.
However, Mr. Fred Olumoro, the Matrix Group Head of Safety, said the recovered bodies drowned while fleeing for safety from the fire outbreak.
He also noted that the company was in touch with the families of the deceased.
“Today (Sunday) afternoon, local divers from our host community recovered five lifeless bodies that drowned probably while fleeing for safety during the fire incident on Friday. Where they died is some distance from the scene of the fire.
“Most offices had closed for business on that fateful day. Their bodies were recovered along the bank of the river away from our premises where the incident occurred.
“We’re greatly pained by the loss of these victims. We are already in touch with the family of the victims. We commiserate with the families on this unfortunate incident,” Olomuro stated.
