Three people died Saturday and 10 vehicles burnt as a filling station belonging to the state-owned Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation caught fire in Kaduna.

Witnesses said the fire started around 5:11 p.m and raged for more than three hours.

Some residents of Kinkinau GRA, where the fuel station is located, opposite Ungwan Muazu, on Nnamdi Azikwe Way, said as the inferno raged, they became apprehensive that it might spread to their shops and homes.

Babangida Kinkinau, owner of a nearby shop, said the incident occurred while a fuel tanker was discharging its content.

“One of the compartments of the tanker was leaking fuel while in the process of discharge,” Mr. Kinkinau said. “I rushed to the scene with a bucket to assist as the manager of the fuel station uses rag to block the leakage.

“Unfortunately, the fire was triggered from the fuel that flowed to the main road, which engulfed eight cars and two commercial buses on queue. The tanker and the fuel station got burnt as well as a girl and two men were killed.

“I managed to remove my car from inside the fuel station.”

Firefighters from the Kaduna State Fire Service and that of Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company battled hard to extinguish the fire.

An official of the Kaduna State Fire Service, confirmed the death of the three people.

He however said the remote cause of the fire was not immediately known.