A devastating explosion at a fuel depot near the border with Nigeria has left at least 35 people dead and many more injured, according to officials and eyewitness accounts. The incident, which occurred on Saturday, sent shockwaves through the town of Seme-Podji, as a massive blaze engulfed a warehouse storing smuggled fuel.
Eyewitnesses reported that the fire erupted at a storage facility frequently visited by cars, motorbikes, and tricycle taxis seeking to stock up on fuel. The initial assessment, as stated by Prosecutor Abdoubaki Adam-Bongle, confirmed the loss of 35 lives, including one child. Additionally, more than a dozen individuals sustained serious injuries and are currently receiving medical treatment in local hospitals.
The precise cause of the fire is still under investigation, but initial reports suggest that it may have started during the unloading of gasoline bags. A video of the catastrophic incident, widely shared on social media and verified by Al Jazeera, depicts a towering column of black smoke and flames billowing into the sky above what appears to be a marketplace, with horrified onlookers watching from a safe distance.
Benin’s Interior Minister, Alassane Seidou, pointed to smuggled fuel as the root cause of the fire, noting that the victims’ bodies were tragically badly charred. Fuel smuggling has long been a concern along Benin’s border with Nigeria, a significant oil producer. Illegal refineries, fuel depots, and pipelines have cropped up in border towns, posing serious fire hazards.
The tragedy prompted the justice ministry to launch an investigation to determine the exact cause of the fire.
