A petrol station in the Saba Saba area of Mombasa has been temporarily closed after attendants discovered fumes coming out of one of the fuel tanks parked at the station.
The incident, first reported on Tuesday, April 16, evening by one of the station attendants, caused alarm as the tanker has a capacity of 30,000L of Super Petrol.
The attendant then went on and called the Mombasa County fire department who responded to the scene and evacuated motorists and residents around the area.
On Wednesday, the multi-agency team deployed on the site conducted an inspection and made several observations and tests around the now-closed petrol station.
According to the Mombasa County Chief Fire Officer Ibrahim Mossefat, the teams collaborated with the owner of the station to evacuate people from around the station as super petrol is one of the most inflammable gases, to avert the looming disaster.
“Makupa Police Commander called me yesterday and told me there was a loud bang heard from this particular petrol station, and upon reaching here they discovered smoke coming from the tanker,” he noted.
Following the findings, which indicated that the tanker’s fume conductor was spoilt, the team went on to make the necessary repairs.
“My team managed to cover the space where the lid had been removed, to prevent more oxygen from getting in which facilitates burning because the capacitor was already burnt,” Ibrahim explained.
The Mombasa Red Cross team which arrived at the scene immediately thanked the multi-agency teams for the fast response in evacuation and for sending alerts over the leak, which they noted saved a lot of lives.
The area police commander has advised Mombasa residents to avoid the area until the teams give a green flag to ensure their safety and give those working on the tanker time to rectify the issue.
"I have been here since yesterday, and we have evacuated the area and manned it overnight to ensure there is no chaos to avoid disasters," Commander Maxwell noted.
Several fatal cases have been reported in the country following fire outbreaks caused by fuel tankers. In February, two gas explosions were reported in the Embakasi area which left several dead, multiple injuries, and hundreds homeless.
