Siblings burnt to death in Osun petrol station fire disaster

An outbreak at Bovas petrol station in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Wednesday caused pandemonium as two children of the same mother were burnt to death, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
An eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told NAN that the victims were children of the owner of the station located in front of Osogbo Grammar School.
He said the mother of the children also suffered burns in the process of trying to rescue her children.
The Director of the state Fire Service, Michael Ogundipe, confirmed the incident.
Ogundipe spoke with journalists.
He said two lives were lost in the fire and that the cause of the fire had yet to be determined.
He said: “We responded immediately we were called and sent two vehicles.
“We have equipment, but there was congestion on the road, which slowed down our movement.
“We met the fire burning and observed that the construction of the building did not follow the guideline.
“There was no exit route.
“No fire extinguisher was there.
“They would have been able to battle the fire if they had extinguishers.”
The director said the remains of the children had been deposited at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology morgue, while their mother was also receiving treatment at the same hospital.
Some other eyewitnesses said the woman and her three children were inside the mini market attached to the filling station when the fire started, adding that she succeeded in rescuing one of the children.
Fire-fighters were still battling to put off the fire, which also destroyed a Toyota Corolla car, as at the time of filing this report.
Some sympathisers who spoke to NAN correspondent at the scene, described the owner of the station as one of the most honest petroleum marketers in the state.
They called on security agencies to conduct proper investigation to know the cause of the fire.