March 19, (THEWILL) – At least three people have been reported dead in an explosion Friday morning, at the BUA cement factory in Sokoto.
The management of the factory is yet to release a statement on the incident.
But the spokesperson of the Sokoto State Fire Service, Bello Baban–Addini, confirmed the explosion to journalists in a statement, but did not provide details.
The explosion occurred around 10 a.m. on Friday, but details of the incident have just filtered in to newsmen.
A worker at the factory, who simply gave his name as Sambo, told Vision FM Radio in Sokoto, that the explosion occurred when some staff at the “engineering” section carried out welding repairs on a diesel truck.
“I was in another section of the company, but some of the workers were welding a diesel truck in their part. It was dangerous because how could you weld a truck filled with diesel? That was what caused the explosion”, the worker said
Asked how many people died, Sambo said, “three people have been confirmed dead, because their corpses have been identified and they were all burnt.
“Several others have been wounded. Two ambulances just left here before you came. We don’t know how many people have died, but there other workers have not been seen up to now (Friday).”
He added that a Chinese staffer was among the missing.
The village head of Illela Babba, where the factory is situated, Alhaji Ummaru Sani, said the explosion was terrifying.
He said he thought the whole community would be engulfed by the inferno.
“We heard that it was while some of their workers were welding some of their working tools, but there was fuel or diesel truck around the place. Some of the workers are my people (from community) and they told me that several people have lost their lives in the explosion”, he said.
When contacted, the Fire Prevention Officer of Sokoto State Fire Service, Nuhu Lawal, confirmed the incident, said they mobilised teams, as well as moved fire fighting equipment to the location.
Meanwhile, Mr Umar Nura-Sifawa, an official of the Federal Fire Service in Sokoto, who was also at the scene, said,”it is an ‘oil fire’, which takes longer period to extinguish.”
