An illegal oil refinery at the Katango section of Wailari, located along the Ring Road Bypass, opposite Maryam Shekarau Estate in Kano, caught fire, resulting in the destruction of a truck and the verified death of at least one person.
Five residential homes in the area were also destroyed by the fire, which broke out on Monday morning at around 09:50.
The men from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Salbas Petrol Station fire department, and the Kano State Fire Service took almost three hours to put out the fire.
The corpse, identified as that of an Aminu, was charred beyond recognition and was found by the fire fighters among the wreckage of the illicit refinery.
Employee of the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), Ahmad Umar Gaya, an eyewitness, stated he was on duty beside the road when he heard an explosion and turned to see fireballs at the scene.
“I immediately called the attention of the Kano Fire Service and directed them to the location.
“The place, which is located in the midst of residential houses at Katango in Wailari, is used to stock scraps of trucks and trailers and also to refine used engine oil for other purposes.
“No one can tell what exactly happened that led to the explosion. The trailer carrying drums of the used engine oil was gutted by the fire in which the driver was trapped and burned beyond recognition.
“Close to the location were residential houses with women and children, and about five houses were gutted by the inferno.
“An old lady who could not walk was rescued from one of the houses and two kids were also rescued from another house when their mother ran out and left them inside, all through humanitarian efforts by onlookers. The fire incident took about three hours before it was put out,” he explained.
