At least 35 people, including a child, died after a fire ripped through an illegal fuel depot along Benin’s border with Nigeria, according to officials and residents.
At least 35 people were killed in Benin after a fuel depot burst into flames, sending a cloud of black smoke billowing into the sky, officials and witnesses said.
The fire broke out on Saturday at a smuggled fuel warehouse in the town of Seme-Podji, near the border with Nigeria, where cars, motorcycles and tricycle taxis arrived to stock up on fuel, residents said.
“The fire burned down the store and, according to an initial assessment, resulted in 35 deaths, including a child,” prosecutor Abdoubaki Adam-Bongle said in a statement.
“According to the witnesses interviewed, the fire probably started while unloading bags of gasoline.”
More than a dozen others were seriously injured and were being treated in hospital, he said.
A video of the fire widely shared on social media and confirmed by Al Jazeera shows a tower of black smoke and flames shooting into the air over what appears to be a marketplace as shocked people watch from a safe distance.
🚨[DRAME] Ow #Benin, an arsonist was reported in a secret Essence camp in the Sèmè-Krake location. A first dish has a temperature of 33 hours (calcined). 💔🇧🇯 pic.twitter.com/kzzL1JhEmM
— LSI AFRICA (@lsiafrica) September 23, 2023
Translation: On Saturday, a fire broke out in an illegal fuel depot in Seme-Krake, Beninese. Initial reports suggest at least 33 deaths.
Benin’s Interior Minister Alassane Seidou said the cause of the fire was “smuggled fuel.” He said the fire left the victims’ bodies “severely charred.”
Fuel smuggling is widespread on Benin’s border with Nigeria, a major oil producer. Illegal refineries, fuel dumps and pipelines have sprung up in border towns, sometimes leading to fires.
“I live not far from the tragedy,” Semevo Nounagnon, a local cyclist, told AFP.
“I can’t tell you the exact cause of the fire, but there is a large petrol depot here and cars, tricycles and motorbikes come from morning to night.”
Others expressed shock at the incident.
“We heard people screaming for help. But the intensity of the flames was too great for people to try to approach them,” said Innocent Sidokpohou, a local carpenter.
“I got gas for my motorcycle to do my shopping. I was walking and barely five meters away I heard an explosion. When I turned around it was all black smoke.”
The Justice Department said it had launched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire.