One week after a tanker explosion at a fuel station in Kano left at least 72 people hospitalised with varying degrees of injuries, some victims share their memories of the day with Daily Trust.
The explosion, which occurred Saturday evening at Al-Ihsan Petroleum Company in Sharada area of Kano Municipal Area, involved a tanker carrying 6,600 litres of petrol. The tanker was said to be offloading petroleum products at the station when it exploded.
Confirming the incident, the Kano State Fire Service Commission’s Public Relation Officer, Saminu Yusuf Abdullahi, said they got a distress call from a resident of the area and their personnel promptly went to the scene.
“After the fire was controlled by our men, one of the filing station staff ignorantly opened one of the tanker compartments and that caused the fire to reignite and the explosion occurred,” he said.
He confirmed that 72 persons were affected by the fire, including eight of the fire service personnel.
When Daily Trust visited Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, an entire ward was dedicated for the treatment of the fire victims.
Musa Adamu, 22, said he went to the filling station to look for his younger brother and ended up being one of the victims.
“When I learnt of the fire, I quickly ran out to look for my younger brother who went on an errand. On getting there, I was told by our neighbour that he saw him going back home. So, I decided to go home, and as I was leaving, another fire erupted. I ran for my dear life, but unfortunately the fire caught up with me,” he said.
Ten-year-old Musa Sa’ad was crying from the pain of burns he sustained from the fire when Daily Trust correspondent got to his bedside.
His father, Malam Sa’ad Muhammad, told our correspondents that the boy alongside his younger brother was coming back from their grandmother’s house when the incident occurred.
“I was at my work place at Hotoro when my wife called and told me what happened. She said only the older child got affected as the other escaped unhurt.
Malam Sa’ad said, “I have never witnessed such calamity in my life. All the patients in this ward are victims of the fire. We don’t sleep at all. If my child eventually sleeps, another patient is awake and crying because of the pain,” he said.
Other victims, who were found at the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, said they were brought to the hospital by the Red Cross Society, in the company of their ward head, and that they were directed to wait for treatment.
Ammaru Yusuf, 17, resident of Sharada area, narrated how the fire injured his right hand.
“I was coming back from work when a holdup caused by the incident trapped me. I decided to drop from the tricycle to trek home since it’s nearby. Before I even reached the filling station, the tanker exploded.
“I just saw fire on my shirt and I tried to remove it. Before you know it, it caught my right hand as you can see,” he said.
The mother of a 14-year-old boy, who simply gave her name as a Mama Emma, said her son Emmanuel Zakariyya was writing his homework but stepped out of the house to watch the incident and also got affected.
“I warned him not to go near the place but it was destined that he would get involved. Even though he didn’t go near the spot, the fire still touched his head and we are here for treatment,” she said.
The parents jointly called on the government to strengthen efforts in making sure that their children are given good care as most of them do not have the means to do that.
Explosion destined to happen – Petrol station manager
Muhammad Labaran Kofar Nassarawa is the station manager of the petrol station where the explosion occurred, and he told Daily Trust Saturday that the accident was destined to happen.
“As you know in Kano, we are experiencing hot weather. When the tanker came around 2pm, we decided not to offload till after 4:30pm,” he said.
He sympathized with the victims and promised that they would be taken care of by the owner of the filling station till they fully recover.
“When the explosion happened, we felt the heat from the fire not to talk of the victims who sustained burns. We really sympathize with them and we pray for fast recovery,” he said.
Meanwhile, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje led members of the state Executive Council and religious scholars to the hospital on Sunday where he directed the state ministry of health to ensure all the victims were treated free of charge.
A statement by Ameen Kabir Yassar, the Director-General, Media and Public Relations for the Government House, revealed that the governor had subsequently directed the State Fire Service to prosecute owners of filling stations with no functional firefighting equipment.
He also directed the agency to seriously reprimand filling stations with faulty fire equipment, stressing that his administration would not allow fuel to be sold under hazardous conditions.
The governor also ordered the agency to conduct regular seminars for employees of filing stations, to educate them on best practices in fuel management and fire prevention.
Lubabatu I. Garba, Zaharadden Yakubu Shuaibu and Usman B. Balarabe, Kano
