9th January, 2013
Fire has gutted MRS petroleum tank farm at Tin Can Island, opposite PPM Terminal, in Apapa, Lagos, southwest Nigeria.
Unofficial sources told P.M.NEWS that the fire which started at about 11.30am Wednesday was said to have spread from a ship that caught fire after an explosion while discharging petroleum products into the MRS tank farm.
The inferno caused panic as port workers and visitors scampered for safety.
According to the AFP, initial reports indicated that it was “a filling station that is on fire,” said Ibrahim Farinloye of the National Emergency Management Agency, adding workers were on their way to the scene.
Smoke could be seen rising from the area.
“I felt the explosion from where we are,” said Charles Osagie, who works at an import and export office in the district.
The fire was still raging at the time of this report.
—Esther Komolafe