Three die in Kano fuel tanker explosion

Three persons died while one other escaped with injuries in two separate fire incidents recorded in Kano State on Friday, according to the Kano State Fire Service

The agency confirmed the incidents in a statement released on Saturday and signed by its Public Relations Officer, ACFO Saminu Yusif Abdullahi.

The first incident occurred on Friday, around 1:30pm, when a petrol tanker carrying 30,000 litres of fuel fell and exploded at the Kura Market junction along Zaria Road.

The tanker, with registration number NGZ 250 XA, reportedly knocked down a cyclist before it went up in flames.

The statement said the Emergency Response Unit received a distress call from a retired Civil Defence officer, Danlami Muhammad, prompting immediate deployment of firefighters from the service headquarters.

“On arrival, our men found the tanker fully engulfed in flames. Four people were affected; three were rescued unconscious and later confirmed dead, while the cyclist survived,” the statement added.

Firefighters, supported by police and FRSC personnel, contained the blaze and handed over the bodies to ASP Ahmad Lawan of the Kura Police Division.

Two fire trucks—one from the headquarters and another from the Kura station—were deployed.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

The second incident occurred on the same day at about 2:45pm when a fire broke out at Hamisu Plaza on Maiduguri Road in Taruni Local Government Area.

The upper floor of the two-storey commercial building was already in flames when firefighters arrived.

Three shops were destroyed, while the team managed to save the remaining shops on the first and ground floors.

A fire truck stationed at the ongoing trade fair responded to the emergency.

The statement noted that the cause of the plaza fire was also being investigated.

The Director of the agency, Alhaji Sani Anas, appealed to residents to be cautious in handling fire, especially during the harmattan season, and urged motorists to adhere to traffic rules to prevent avoidable tragedies.

Four members of a family were, nine days ago, burnt to death in an early morning fire that engulfed their residence at Kundila Layin Baba Impossible in Tarauni Local Government Area of Kano State.

Culled from punch