By Winifred Bulus
30 viewers were electrocuted to dead while watching a football match at a public viewing centre in Nigeria.
The victims were watching the match at a viewing center in Nyagasang area of Atimbo in Calabar, southeast, Nigeria.
The incident was reported to have happened at about 9.30 pm after a transformer exploded, and dropped a high tension wire on the viewing centre which was built with zinc.
The dead victims were taken to the mortuary and survivors taken to the hospital.
This caused a rapid electrocution of the viewers in the building according to eye witness that there was a first explosion that scared the people around the building and in the viewing centre before the second one which came with the explosion. Some of the viewers left after the first but others stayed.
“We were all inside watching the match when we heard the first explosion from the transformer; the heavy sound caused panic because some people shouted and ran out.
“After a while, we came back into the viewing centre to continue with the match. Shortly, we heard another heavy sound and when some people tried to run away from the centre, they were affected.
“Over 50 of us escaped death yesterday because we were standing by the door watching the game,” said the eye witness.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Cross River State Command, Irene Ugbo, confirmed the incident.
The match was between Manchester united versus Anderlercht and Manchester beat Anderlecht 2-1.