At least 10 people were killed and more than 20 others injured in a series of explosions that rocked the Mansoura district in Aden, southern Yemen, today (Friday), due to a fire that broke out at a domestic gas station.
Conflicting reports emerged regarding the cause of the fire. According to the first account, the fire began in a domestic gas tanker that was unloading gas into the station’s tanks on 90th Street in the Mansoura district. It is unclear whether the fire was sparked by a cigarette butt or a flame ignited within the tanker’s engine, which was running during the unloading process. Another account, however, suggests that a car collided with the tanker while it was unloading gas, causing the fire to start in the tanker. The blaze then caused the tanker’s pipe to explode, and the fire spread, eventually leading to the explosion of the station’s tanks and a significant expansion of the fire.
Sources from both accounts told “Okaz” that security forces are working to extinguish the fire. There are about 10 dead and around 20 injured who have been taken to the hospital. The sources did not rule out the possibility of the death toll rising due to the spread of the fire.
Ambulances rushed to the scene to try to extinguish the fire, which is still burning at this moment. Security forces have cordoned off the site, and efforts are ongoing to put out the fire. The incident has caused panic among civilians.
Eyewitnesses told “Okaz” that the station is located in a crowded market on 90th Street, near a health center and large residential neighborhoods. They noted that there is widespread panic among the residents of the neighborhood adjacent to the station and among passengers on nearby buses
