The MRS filing station on Airport road, Abuja was yesterday gutted by fire as a petrol tanker laden with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) exploded while discharging the product.
A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent who witnessed the incident reported that the tanker was discharging the product at about 6.41 p.m when it suddenly burst into flames.
Some of the station attendants told NAN that the cause of the fire was unknown, but that they would not rule out spark from a metal within the area when the tanker was discharging.
When NAN got to the scene of the incident at about 6.51pm some officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) were on ground for rescue operations.
Alhough the station was on the main road, the fire personnel did not come until about 7.20pm which was almost an hour after the fire started.
The fire officers, who came with about five trucks, were from Federal Fire Service, National Judicial Institute and FCT Fire Service.
Meanwhile, no casualty was recorded as the fire only burnt the canopy but did not affect the main building or underground tank.
Fire fighters drafted to the scene were sighted battling to put out the fire and prevent it from spreading to other parts of the building.
Officials of the filling station and the fire fighters, however, declined to speak to NAN on the incident. (NAN)
