24th August, 2011
Detectives from the anti-bomb squad of the Rivers State Police Command, Engineers from Power Holding Company of Nigeria,PHCN,and other security agencies have started investigatingn the cause of an explosion yesterday at the multi-billion naira Afam Power Station, Oyigbo, Rivers State, Southsouth Nigeria.
Hope of getting regular power supply from the power station owned by PHCN, at Oyigbo,in Oyigbo Local Government area, a suburb of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital suffered a setback as a result of explosion in the plant that wounded security personnel and destroyed properties worth millions of naira.
The cause of the explosion at the plant which was built in 1964 was not immediately known. But residents told P.M.NEWS on phone that the incident that happened yesterday caused panic in the host community as people scampered for safety.
When contacted Mr Nsidibe Etim,the Public Relations Officer of.PHCN Afam Business Unit, confirmed the explosion and explained that there was a sudden surge of an excess current in one of the sensitive units and that resulted in the explosion.
Etim assured there was no cause for alarm as the incident has been brought under control and that there was no casualty.
However, it was learnt that some staff on night shift and security personnel were injured and were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment.
Ben Ugwuegbulam, the spokesman of the Rivers State Police Command, confirmed the incident, but said that investigation on the cause of the explosion has commenced along with stakeholders in the power sector.
—Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt