A fire outbreak occurred at a filling station in Dutse, the Jigawa state capital, on Thursday evening.
The incident happened at about 8pm at Shakkotu along Kiyawa Road, Dutse.
According to eyewitnesses, the fire erupted when a fuel tanker exploded while offloading fuel at the station.
They described the scene as chaotic, with people running for their lives.
One of the eye witnesses, Baba Nura, told our correspondent, “I was nearby when I heard a loud explosion. I rushed to the scene and saw that the fuel tanker had burst and the fire surrounded almost everywhere in the filling station.”
The filling station and several nearby property were said to be damaged.
The Jigawa State Police Command through its spokesperson, SP Shi’isu Adam, confirmed the incident, saying that they received a report of the fire outbreak at about 8pm.
The police spokesperson added that immediately after getting the report of the incident, the area was cordoned and barricaded.
“We immediately rushed to the scene with the fire service men.
“For now, there is no report of deaths, but our men are at the moment at the scene of the incident and details would be released later,” Adam said.
All efforts to reach out to the manager of the filling station for comment on the incident proved abortive, despite repeated visits to the station and attempts to contact him via phone, the manager was unavailable to speak.
His whereabouts were unknown, and staff at the station declined to comment on the incident, citing instructions from their superiors.
(PUNCH)