At least 12 corpses were affected in an early morning fire outbreak on Tuesday at the morgue of the Department of Anatomy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the affected corpses were kept in the cabin of the morgue.

The spokesperson of the university, Abiodun Olarewaju, in a statement on Tuesday afternoon, said the incident was prevented from turning into a major fire outbreak by the combined efforts of the security and fire services units of the University.

Mr Olarewaju said the fire outbreak occurred at about 3 a.m. from an electrical surge. He said the fire affected a section of the morgue where corpses are kept.

“Out of about one hundred and two (102) bodies that are kept in the morgue, twelve (12) were affected by the fire outbreak,” the statement said.

He, however, said the department had informed “those who have kept bodies (corpses) in the morgue.

“Leading other Principal Officers to the scene of the incident, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Eyitope Ogunbodede, assessed the level of damage and instructed immediate repairs to the affected areas.

“The Vice-Chancellor has also constituted a three-member committee to look into the immediate and remote causes of the fire outbreak. Normalcy of academic and administrative activities has since returned to the area,” the official said.