Two persons were feared dead on Wednesday in a fire outbreak which occurred around 10 am at Nine Energies gas station, Asero, Abeokuta.
According to an eye witness who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, the fire outbreak occurred when a medium tanker was offloading diesel into another tanker.
Those who were feared dead from the incident were said to be the driver of the tanker that came to receive the diesel and his assistant.
Our correspondent who visited the filling station formerly known as NIPCO saw the burnt tanker as well as the firefighters from Ogun State Fire Service who came to put off the fire. Some police officers and officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence were also on the ground to ensure orderliness.
Speaking over the incident, the source said “The fire started around 10 am and we all just saw the thick smoke coming from the filling station, nobody could go near the filling station because of the intensity of the fire. The firefighters from Ogun State Fire Service later came around to put out the fire.
“We later got to know that the fire started when a tanker that brought diesel was transferring it into another tanker. It was the tanker that was receiving the diesel that went up in flames while the one that brought the diesel hurriedly left the place to avoid being caught up. The two occupants of the tanker that was receiving the fuel were however badly burnt, they were rushed to the hospital by some people”.
The Director of Ogun State Fire Service, Fatai Adefala, while confirming the incident said that those involved in the fire incident only sustained minor injuries and were rushed to Ogun State Hospital, Ijaye for medical treatment.
Adefala also explained that only one tanker was involved in the incident.
He said, “Yes I was there, only one tanker was involved and the fire started when the tanker was about to dispense the diesel into the underground tank, it was the pumping machine that ignited the fire and the two people injured only suffered minor injuries and were rushed to the state hospital”.
The Police Public Relations Officer for the state command, SP Omolola Odutola, also confirmed the fire incident but said that she could not confirm whether there were casualties or not.
