BEVERLY HILLS, July 17, (THEWILL) – About 30 persons are said to have been died from an inferno from an explosion at the Calabar Free Trade Zone (CFTZ) with others sustaining various degrees of burns.
The fire reportedly emanated from LINC Oil and Gas’ tank farm in the area as a result of what was termed negligence and sabotage by some of its staff.
Eyewitnesses claimed that a worker, who was trying to siphon petrol from a vessel opened one of the valves, but unfortunately the gasket on the valve failed so the pressure threw him off, with fuel flowing into the gutter.
People started scooping the fuel with various containers such as drums, plastic and steel buckets.
It was during the scooping of fuel from the gutter that the fire started and flowed back to LINC Oil and Gas and to Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) where it entered a vessel loaded with PMS.
Some allege that the fire was ignited by somebody who was smoking cigarette close to one of the gutters that the product was flowing through, while some said it was a spark from one of the stainless steel buckets.
“For now, I can tell you that the Safety Manager and some security personnel from the company are dead,” a witness said.
The CFTZ host community, Esuk Utan, was not spared as the fuel from the gutter flowed into the community.
Members of the community woke up to realise that petrol was flowing through their gutters and decided to scoop the product.
The settlement, which also serves as a fish market, was razed and seven people, who lived there, lost their lives also, according to eyewitnesses, while several canoes and engine boats were caught in the inferno.
However, Cross River State’s Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hafiz Inuwa, said nine people died in the incident.
Inuwa 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 but revealed that officials of Cross State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) were on ground to assess the extent of damages caused by the explosion.
