UNIBEN students escape death as fire guts hostel

Disaster was averted in the University of Benin (UNIBEN) as hundreds of female students of the University narrowly escaped death from an early morning fire incident that gutted their three-storey hostel building.

The fire is said to started around 1am from the last floor of the hostel of the building and spread to other floors of the Hall II of the female hostel located inside the main campus of the university at Ugbowo.

No life was lost in the fire incident but several students sustained injuries while escaping the inferno, some by jumping from the top floors.

Each of the floors of the three-storey hostel building is occupied by 200, 300 and 400 students respectively.

The injured ones were said to have been taken to the school’s health centre before they were finally transferred to an undisclosed hospital for further medical attention.

Harrison Osarenren, The UNIBEN Public Relations officer (PRO) confirmed the fire incident to PMnews no phone.

Osarenren said the fire started from a room inside the hostel, adding that the cause of the incident could be attributed to electrical fault.

He added that items in some of the affected rooms were destroyed and those that sustained burnt injuries were few and that those injured have been taken to hospital for treatment.