Property worth millions of naira was destroyed over the weekend when a petrol-laden tanker fell and exploded in Idanre, Ondo state.
According to sources, no fewer than 10 shops, one residential house, a new transformer, filling station were among the affected property razed by fire.
Timely intervention of the Federal Fire Service and the Ondo State Fire Service prevented further damages as the fire almost engulfed another filling station and a gas plant in the area.
A source said that” the tanker, was at a filling station in the community to discharge the product into the underground tank of the filling station, through a big pipe when it caught fire .
” The tanker arrived the petrol station this evening and as the workers in the station were discharging the fuel inside it into the underground tank, suddenly the fire began.
” It burnt down the filling station completely and the house beside the station was also burnt. But later the fire fighters arrived the scene and put out the fire.”
But, the Federal Fire Service, Ondo State Command spokesperson , Oshin Victor Abayomi, said that the tanker was negotiating a roundabout at Opa in Idanre town when it fell and spilled its contents and thereafter went up in flames.
Abayomi said that officials of the Fire Service and men from the State Fire Service, jointly put out the fire.
“The tanker was carrying fuel and wanted to discharge at a fuelling station in the course of turning, it fell.
“It was a terrible fire. Our men were there. They were coming from another incident in Owo.
“When they got to Idanre, the fire had done some damages.
“A lot of damages were done. The house that was burnt was a bungalow. Shops that were burnt were up to ten, a filling station very close to the roundabout was damaged, as transformer at the junction was burnt too”
Contacted, the state police spokesperson, Funmi Odunlami, confirmed the incident and there was no casualty in the inferno.
Odulami added that” The timely intervention of the men of the state fire service prevent the fire from causing more havoc.