One person has died and four others gravely injured after fire visited the Nouvelle Route Bessengue neighborhood in Douala 1 subdivision near the petroleum Depot, SCDP Thursday night.
Several inhabitants were trapped in their houses when the flames broke out. A Bessenge resident revealed that “many people were even asleep in their house…as they woke up in that confusion, it was difficult for them to escape…one boy was completely calcinated…many people were inside and we have not found them yet so we are yet to know the exact number of casualties which are believe to be rising”.
Over 50 houses are said to have been ravaged by the wild flames
The flames were finally contained after the Airport firefighting units intervened to join those who initially showed up to help contain the flames.
As at now, the cause is yet to be known but some persons suspect an explosion of one of the storage tanks at SCDP.
“We perceived petrol odour the entire day and we couldn’t tell what was wrong…until we slept off and the worst happened,” another source noted.
The SCDP area according to town planning experts is not a safe ground for habitation who say the hundreds of families living there are exposed to danger.
