From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
Fire incident at a gas station has claimed the life of one person and wounded several others in Rumuodomaya, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The incident occurred on Saturday night.
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) said its officials had visited the scene of the incident and commenced investigation into the cause of the fire outbreak.
It was gathered that some trucks and gas cylinders at the station were razed and the explosion terrified people within the neighborhood.
Some residents said over five persons suffered severe burns and were rushed to a nearby hospital, noting that the devastation rate was high due to failure of fire service to respond promptly to distress calls.
One of the resident who said he works at a nearby company told newsmen that a security man attached to the gas station was among those critically injured.
He said: “Musa is among them. We call him our papa. He is still in the hospital. The people in the hospital said they don’t know if he will survive. Still, even Innocent, (another victim) is in the hospital now. Musa is a security man. He has been there as a security man. He is from Taraba State”.
An eyewitness said many people fled initially, adding that it was some residents, including Northern settlers, that mustard courage with some indigenes to go close to the scene when fire fighters were not forthcoming.
The resident said: “We just tried our best to quench (extinguish) it (fire). Nobody came here. It was only the police that were trying to protect people and the property and blocked the roads, so that cars will not enter. You know they are carrying fuel.The only thing is that the police people tried. Supposing that chamber explodes, what will happen in Rumuodomaya? No fire service”.
Zonal Controller of the DPR, Port Harcourt Zonal office, Bassey Nkanga, confirmed the incident to journalists.