A petrol station, tanker and shops Nnewi-Nnobi Road, Nnewi, Anambra state were on Friday gutted by fire, causing losses running into hundreds of millions of naira.
The fire which began at about 8 am, also razed a motorcycle, generator, deep freezers and other items inside a shop along the road.
The fire caused pandemonium forcing shop owners and residents of the area running for their lives, though no life was lost.
According to sources, the filling station ‘Great V. Max Oil & Gas’ began burning when worshippers from a nearby church were dispersing after service.
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Standard Observers gathered that the fire began when the diesel laden tanker attempted to transfer its product into a smaller tanker in the station.
Eyewitnesses said that while the transfer was ongoing, the transfer hose pulled out and splashed the inflatable product on the transfer generator, sparking the fire.
Attempts to extinguish the fire by the station attendants failed. However, firefighters later visited the area and quenched the fire while the tanker drivers escaped by whiskers.
