Many injured as petrol tanker explodes in Kano

Bisi ABASS

At least 45 people sustained severe burns and other related injuries as a petrol tanker making a delivery at the Al-Ihasan petrol station located along Yahaya Gusau way, Sharada Kano explodes into flames.

The incident which took place Saturday evening might have resulted from the violation of some safety rules while a tanker was delivering petrol at the station.

The Commissioner for Works Idris Garba Unguwanrimi expressed sadness over the unfortunate and blamed the avoidable incident on violation of the safety protocols.

Speaking to newsmen on the matter, he said, “The unfortunate and avoidable incident might have occurred as a result of a violation of the safety protocols.

“It is part of the rules that deliveries of such highly inflammable substances should not be done in midday due to excessive heat in the environment which exceed 40° centigrade”.

The fire started while a petrol tanker was making delivery of the inflammable substance at the station.

It immediately went ablaze and this attracted a lot of people to the scene who were there to watch how the fire service was putting out the fire.

All of a sudden the petrol tanker exploded with a giant flame that went into the sky and also burned a lot of people close by including some firefighters working to put out the fire.

The injured persons were immediately rushed to the Murtala Muhammad Hospital in the metropolis.

Although eyewitnesses said over seventy people might have been left with different degrees of burns as a result of the explosion, official reports put the figure at 45 without any death being reported as at news time.