Apapa Fuel Depot Inferno

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said a truck loader died in the fire outbreak at a depot in Dockyard, Apapa, Lagos in the early hours of today. Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, information officer, NEMA, South-West, the fire broke out when products were being loaded into a truck. ``I have confirmed the incident and I was told that the fire outbreak at Aiteo occurred between 1 am and 3 am. ``The fire occurred in the process of loading a product at the depot into a truck and killed one truck loader,’’ he said. Farinloye said the Lagos State Fire Service and its federal counterpart worked together to put out the fire. Mr. Rasak Fadipe, director, Lagos State Fire Service, also confirmed the incident to NAN, saying a distress call was received at the office minutes before 1 am. He said that fighting vehicles from Sari-Iganmu and Ilupeju were deployed to the scene. ``When we got to the depot, the fire had already engulfed a truck loaded with petroleum products, but we joined hands to put out the fire by 3 a.m. ``A motor truck boy of about 30 years of age was trapped in the fire,’’ he said. Fadipe urged depot owners to be more careful during the harmattan. ``The state has a vibrant fire service system that responds to calls promptly, and we urge anybody who observes any fire outbreak to alert us on 767 and 112 toll free,’’ he said. When contacted, Mr. Tunde Akinpelu, vice-chairman of Aiteo Energy, said he could not speak on the issue.