Calabar Explosion Victim’s father appeals for help as rising medical bills threaten his daughter’s survival after deadly gas blast

Mr Anietie Ekere, father of seven-year-old gas explosion survivor Happiness Ekere, has appealed for urgent assistance nearly two months after a devastating explosion at a filling station in the Edibe-Edibe area of Calabar South Local Government Area left his family shattered.

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Happiness Ekere sustained severe burns during the March 20 explosion and remains admitted at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, where doctors are continuing treatment in a desperate effort to save her life.

Speaking emotionally to journalists in Calabar, Mr Ekere said the family has been abandoned since the incident, alleging that the management and owner of the filling station have not contacted them or offered support.

The grieving father disclosed that he has struggled daily to fund his daughter’s treatment despite working as a casual labourer with unstable income.

According to him, doctors frequently request medications and supplies that must be purchased outside the hospital, placing enormous pressure on the family’s finances.

“Some days I spend close to N10,000 just on medication alone,” Mr Ekere said.

“That does not even include transportation or feeding. I am only trying my best to keep my daughter alive.”

Mr Ekere revealed that Happiness recently underwent surgery and may require another major medical procedure estimated to cost more than N1 million.

The tragedy has already claimed the life of his 15-year-old son, Solomon Ekere, who also suffered injuries during the explosion and died about a week later.

“My daughter is still struggling to stand or walk properly,” Mr Ekere said.

“I don’t know where the money will come from anymore. I just pray she survives.”

A volunteer assisting the family through The Brotherhood of the Cross and Star said sympathisers have spent nearly N1 million on medication, tests and wound care since the incident occurred.

The source, who requested anonymity, explained that several prescribed drugs were unavailable within the hospital and had to be sourced privately at high costs. Some injections reportedly cost as much as N13,000, while routine wound dressing expenses could rise to N15,000.

The volunteer acknowledged that the Cross River State Government had supported parts of the surgical procedures and hospital care.

However, most daily medical expenses are still being handled by volunteers and the family.

The Calabar Explosion Victim’s father has now appealed to the Cross River State Government, humanitarian organisations and members of the public to intervene urgently.

“All I want is for my child to live,” Mr Ekere pleaded.

“I cannot bear losing another child.”

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Meanwhile, reports have emerged alleging that relief materials recently distributed by the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, to victims of the Calabar gas explosion may not have reached many of the affected families.