A tragedy that could have destroyed millions of naira in property and claimed many lives was averted in Abuja today, as a tanker loaded with fuel caught fire at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Super Mega Station, the largest one in Nigeria, along Kubwa road in Abuja.
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The fire, which started at 5.30pm as a tanker was trying to discharge fuel into an underground storage tank, caused staff, customers, and bystanders to flee to safety. Sources at the scene said no lives were lost in the inferno.
The driver of the tanker, who escaped unharmed, told SaharaReporters the fire was ignited from the underground tank when he was discharging the fuel. Staff and passersby frantically tried to put out the fire with extinguishers, but all to no avail as they exhausted the extinguishers without making any impact.
It took the timely intervention of Federal Fire Service and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) officials from Kubwa, who battled the raging fire finally put off. Customers who were in the station at the time of the incident hurriedly moved their cars away to avoid being caught up.