Three people were killed when two fuel-laden articulated vehicles exploded at Gyazama village, along the Funtua-Birnin Gwari road in Dandume Local Government Area of Katsina State.
Alhaji Abdulkadir Muhammad, the Transition Committee Chairman of Dandume Local Government Council, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dandume that four other persons sustained burns of various degrees.
He also said that six houses were also burnt in the resultant inferno which occurred on Saturday evening.
The blaze started when some drivers were transferring fuel from a broken-down vehicle to another through the use of a pumping machine.
Muhammad said that two of the deceased were the operators of the pumping machine, while those who sustained burns were receiving treatment at Funtua General Hospital.
He added that the houses were burnt because of the fuel which spilled from the scene of the incident.
Muhammad, who was an eye-witness, explained that the fire could not be contained by the Dandume council’s firemen, adding that it took the intervention of nearby firemen from Faskari, Funtua and Dandume local government areas to put it off.
He said that the fire lasted up to Sunday morning, adding that he attended the burial of the deceased, while paying condolence visits to the victims’ families.
Muhammad warned people in the area against illegal parking of vehicles, poor handling of flammable fuels as well as inappropriate use of pumping machines.
