9 perish in Calabar tank farm explosion

Cross River state Police Command has confi rmed that nine people died in a fi re outbreak that occurred at Linc Oil and Gas tank farm yesterday morning. Th e state Commissioner of police, Hafi z Inuwa, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria at the scene of the event, confi rmed the fi gure. He added that several other persons, who sustained injuries, were currently being treated in one of the hospitals in Calabar. According to him, the manager of the depot is yet to brief the police on what led to the explosion.

“Up until now, nobody has come out to tell us that this is what caused the fi re outbreak. We have gone round, we have done what we can do but investigation will later reveal what actually led to the explosion. “For now, nine people are confi rmed dead and many others who sustained diff erent burns are currently receiving treatment in one of the hospitals around town,” he said. NAN reports that offi cials from the Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) were on ground to assess the extent of damages caused by the explosion.

Our correspondent who went around the depot, reports that the fi re outbreak also aff ected the hightension cable which connected the depot’s electricity transformer, while two vehicles and other important equipment were also burnt to ashes. Th e depot manager refused to speak with journalists, saying that he was not authorised to speak at the moment. However, a staff of the depot, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said the fi re outbreak occurred when staff of the depot where discharging the old products in the tanks to fi ll in the new consignment. “As we speak right now, the vessel that brought in our new product is just by the port here. Some of our staff were discharging the old product from the tank with a view to bring in the new one when the fi re outbreak occurred,” he said.

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