Disaster struck at a densely populated area around Coconut Bus-Stop in Olodi Apapa Lagos on Tuesday night, when a dingy compound which is housing Bestway Oil and Gas Limited allegedly used for adulteration of petroleum products was razed by fire in the middle of an illegal operation.
Disaster struck at a densely populated area around Coconut Bus-Stop in Olodi Apapa Lagos on Tuesday night, when a dingy compound which is housing Bestway Oil and Gas Limited allegedly used for adulteration of petroleum products was razed by fire in the middle of an illegal operation.
Eye witnesses narrated to Shipping Position Daily yesterday that the fire started around 9.pm on Tuesday when a Total Petroleum truck drove in after loading diesel from a depot around Ibru (tank farm) complex. According to them, it was transferring diesel into another truck when the pipe pulled off and diesel splashed on the plug of the truck.
Even though no life was lost, the fire claimed five petroleum trucks and one private car. It also affected the two buildings adjoining the compound.
Sources told our correspondent that, were it not for the timely intervention of fire fighters, the fire would have completely razed down the other buildings close by.
An anonymous source confirmed to our correspondent that the compound which is on Idewu Street, Olodi Apapa was opened for business about one month ago and it has been operating since then, undetected.
"They do not have any fire fighting equipment, an outfit like that ought to have been certified by the Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to meet all necessary safety precautions, especially when it is situated in a residential area" the source said.
Speaking with Shipping Position Daily, operators at some tank farms around the ever-busy Ibru jetty feared that if the trucks had been carrying PMS, the situation would have been more disastrous.
According to them, Bestway Oil and Gas Limited is allegedly an illegal compound used mostly by oil peddlers.
"It is one of these compounds where they do 'rice and beans' they bring diesel and add kerosene to get larger quantity, it is a private outfit", they stated.
"It is an illegal private truck park where drivers park their trucks to do discounting of products, it was while they were carrying out the illegal operations that the fire broke" the operators alleged.
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