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Tag: fire

  • NADMO has disappointed us Fosu market fire victims

    The Assin Fosu Market Women who lost their properties in a fire outbreak at Assin main market last December have expressed their disappointment in the Assin Fosu branch of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO).

    They said the Organization had neglected them after it had inspected and recorded their lost properties in the inferno.

    Madam Patience Nyarko, a fashion designer and a victim of the fire sharing her disappointment, said all her sewing machines together with that of her apprentice and people’s clothes got burnt.

    She said the Municipal Assembly together with the NADMO came to take inventory of the disaster, but since then nothing has been heard or received from them.

    “We have been at home ever since because there has been no help whatsoever”.

    She, therefore, pleaded with the Municipal Assembly and the government to come to their aid for them to restart life again.

    The victim made this disclosure after Ghana Cooperative Fashion Designers and Beauticians Association donated an undisclosed amount of money and one sewing machine to her (Ms. Nyarko) at Assin Fosu.

    All the other victims expressed similar sentiments and called for support from the central government to enable them to make a living.

    Mr. John Essuman, the Central Regional President of the Association on behalf of the Association, encouraged the fire victims not to lose hope, but rather start life again because they could bounce back through hard work.

     

    Source: GNA

  • Man, 70, and 12-year-old son perish in fire outbreak

    Two members of a family have been burnt to death in their sleep at Nkawkaw Domeabra in the Kwahu West Municipality of the Eastern Region.

    The unfortunate incident occurred Tuesday 18th February around 9 pm.

    The 70-year-old man Mr. Sammy Simpeh a former assemblyman for Domeabra Electoral Area and his 12-year old son whose name was identified as Kwame met their untimely death while they were asleep.

    An eyewitness Yaw Yeboah who spoke to Agoo fm revealed that the wife escaped death and has been admitted to the Agyarkwah Hospital, Nkawkaw for treatment.

    He told host Kwame Koranteng on the Morning Show Ene Nso Bio today that, the cause of the incident is not yet known adding that, the fire officers although arrived on time could not save her family.

     

    Source: Starrfmonline.com

  • GNFS steps up fire education campaign in Ashanti region

    The Ashanti Regional Command of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has stepped up educational campaigns to sensitize the people in the communities on the causes of fire and its attendant devastating effects.

    The move is to help reduce the incidence of fire outbreaks and its negative consequences on the victims, the government and the national economy.

    One of such awareness programs had been conducted at Breman and Kronom-Afrancho, in the Suame Municipality, where about 30 per cent of fire outbreaks in the Region, had occurred in January this year.

    Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) Joshua Ngoah, Ashanti Regional Fire Commander, speaking at the ceremony said the Region recorded a total of 225 fire outbreaks in the month of January this year alone.

    Two people died during the outbreaks while properties running into several millions of cedis were destroyed.

    ACFO Ngoah stressed the need for the people to change their behavior in the way they handled naked fire and keep good house-keeping practices to reduce outbreaks.

    Assistant Divisional Officer Grade 1 (ADO1), Ackah Desmond Essoun, Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO), advised owners of shops to pack their wares properly when they closed for the day.

    They should desist from leaving naked wires to touch their wares since that could spark fire outbreaks.

    He said packing wares in front of streets and on fire hydrants made it difficult for fire tenders to penetrate and have access to hydrants in case of fire outbreaks.

    ADO1 Essoun again cautioned shop owners against leaving electrical gadgets on when they closed their shops in the evening, and the use of cheap and sub-standard electrical cables to wire shops as well as the engagement of non-professional electricians to work for them.

    He educated the shop owners on the proper use of gas cylinders and cautioned drivers to desist from filling their fuel tanks to the brim, which might also cause fire outbreaks.

    Smoking closer to gas cylinders he added, was also a dangerous practice.

    ADO1 Essoun said the awareness program would be sustained to create the needed awareness to reduce fire outbreaks in the Region. GNA

     

    Source: GNA

  • Fire displaces over 200 scrap dealers, kayayei at Dagombaline

    Fire has gutted wooden structures which serve as a place of abode for head potters and scrap dealers at Dagombaline, a slum area in the Kumasi Metropolis of the Ashanti region.

    The structures were completely razed down.

    About 200 head potters and scrap dealers have been displaced.

    The fire began on the evening of Friday, February 14, 2020.

    Fire fighters were on the scene to quench the inferno but the unauthorised structures made it difficult for them to have access.

    The cause of the fire is readily not known.

     

    Source: classfmonline.com

  • 63-year-old woman burnt to death

    A 63-year-old trader, Madam Elizabeth Yawa Afenyo has been burnt to death at Dzoanti, a farming community in the Kpando Municipality.

    Her body was found burnt beyond recognition in an uncompleted building in the Community.

    Emil Senyo Wordey, Assembly Member, Dzoanti/Gadza Electoral Area told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that he was informed of the incident at around 0500 hours on Thursday, February 13, 2020, by two young men.

    He said one of the young men said he was attending to nature’s call at around 0400 hours when he saw smoke emanating from the uncompleted building.

    Mr. Wordey said because the body of the deceased was burnt beyond recognition, they had to use her clothes scattered around, to identify her, as she was earlier seen carrying them the night before the incident.

    He said that the scene looked like the deceased, being mentally unstable, had set fire either to cook or warm herself but fell asleep with the fire spreading to where she was sleeping near some dried maize husks.

    Mr. Wordey said the deceased had allegedly stabbed herself a few times in 2017 and was treated at the Margret Marquart Hospital, and had been on medication since.

    Daniel Afenyo, the deceased’s brother said her sister was sleeping with their mother but due to her condition, sneaked out when their mother was fast asleep.

    The Police in Kpando confirmed the incident and said they had started investigations into the incident.

     

    Source: GNA 

  • Two children die in fire at Donaso in Ashanti Region

    A 23-year-old mother of two is grieving over the death of her children who perished in a fire outbreak in a residential building at Donaso, near Ejisu in the Ashanti Region.

    Sarah Ocran and her children are among 15 victims of the blaze which occurred Friday night.

    Residents say it took the Ghana National Fire Service personnel two hours to arrive at the scene.

    By the time they arrived, the children, a four-year-old and the other 18 months, had already burnt to ashes.

    Although the cause of the fire is yet to be determined, eyewitnesses say they heard an explosion from one of the rooms in the building.

    According to them, it was followed by flames from the room where the children were sleeping in the absence of their mother.

    Madam Ocran, surrounded by sympathizers, confirmed she had left to see a relative nearby when her attention was called to the disaster.

    The landlord, Yaw Daniels, said he returned from work to the sight of his house in flames, which consequently claimed lives and his property.

    Meanwhile some residents are blaming the late arrival of the fire service on inaccessibility to the town. According to them, the delay in the completion of a bridge project in the neighbourhood makes movement difficult.

    Source: myjoyonline 

  • E/R: Mpraeso bans hunting, palm wine-tapping to prevent fire outbreaks

    An immediate indefinite ban has been placed on commercial and livelihood activities that involve the use of open-air outdoor fire, such as hunting and palm wine-tapping, at Mpraeso in the Eastern Region.

    The move, according to the Ghana National Fire Service in the Kwahu South District of the Eastern Region, has become necessary as a result of the fast depleting vegetative cover of the Kwahu ridge.

    In an interview with Citi News, the Deputy Fire Commander of the Mpraeso Fire Station, ADO2 Raphael Sem, said all lawbreakers will be prosecuted to save the Mountain from imminent danger.

    “…palm wine tappers as well, the charcoal burners; when they see anybody who can be described as persons causing such activities, you will be sent to the police station and the law courts as well and you will be prosecuted.”

    He also noted that there was a task force actively policing the area.

    “Any advice you give them, they are not really taking it into consideration so education is still ongoing and the task force is [also working],” ADO2 noted.

    He concluding saying the ban on hunting and the ban on burning bushes will continue “until we experience rainfall.”

     

    Source: citinewsroom 

  • Toddler and 4-year-old burnt to death in Ashanti Region

    A toddler and a four-year-old child were on Friday night burnt to death when fire gutted their house at Danoso New site in the Ejisu Municipality of the Ashanti Region.

    The deceased are Zidan Razark, aged four and his 18-month-old sister Sharifatu Razark.

    The incident which occurred at about 7:00pm saw many other properties destroyed in a seven-bedroom house.

    The children were asleep when the fire started.

    Attempts by officers of the Ghana National Fire Service and onlookers to rescue them proved futile.

    The cause of the fire is unknown.

    The police and GNFS have begun investigations.

    Source: classfmonline.com

  • The Chonicle Editorial: Fire outbreaks in schools – GNFS, NADMO must sit up

    Since the beginning of the year, the media landscape has been replete with stories about fire outbreaks that have gutted some notable state institutions and individual homes across the country. Among these institutions was Accra Academy, one of the premier Senior High Schools in the country.

    At the centre pages of today’s edition, we have also carried a story about fire outbreak that has destroyed a dormitory block of Boa Amponsem Senior High School at Dunkwa on Offin in the Upper Denkyira East District of the Central Region on Monday, this week.

    Also, at Berekum in the Bono Region, fire again gutted a five bedroom house and destroyed property worth several thousands of cedis.

    Since we are in the harmattan season, some of these fires are predictable. Our worry though is the fire outbreaks the SHSs are experiencing . According to our information, Accra Academy alone experienced two fire outbreaks within a week. It appears to us that the headmasters and housemasters are not doing their work – constantly engaging the students and letting them know that we are in the dry season and any combustible material can easily catch fire.

    SHS students are not kids, and they are also not adults who can be allowed to think on their own. They have to be guided by the school authorities to avoid leaving embers of fires open,especially in the dormitories. They must equally be told to avoid leaving on electrical gadgets they have been plugged into electrical power sources.

    The Chronicle is raising these concerns because one dormitory block can contain hundreds of students, and if care not taken and there is a fire outbreak whilst the students are in bed, it can spell doom for this country.

    We therefore, call on the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to join hands with the school authorities to properly educate students throughout the country on fire prevention.

    The public education should also be extended to the rural areas and individual homes to ensure a fire-free season.

    What is happening in Australia should serve as a warning for us to sit up as a country and prevent both domestic and bush fires from emerging at an alarming rate.

    There was a severe famine in Ghana in 1983 because we failed to control the spread of bush fires at the time, where thousands of acres of food crops were consumed by the inferno.

    Never should this happen again. That is why The Chronicle is calling on the GNFS and NADMO to join the campaign to educate Ghanaians on how to avoid domestic fires and those that are on our farms.

     

    Source: The Chronicle

  • Fire razes two dormitories at Boa-Amponsem SHS

    Dunkwa-on-Offin (C/R), Feb. 4, GNA – Fire on Monday afternoon razed two male dormitories; Owusu Bore and Aggrey halls, at Boa-Amponsem Senior High School at Dunkwa-on-Offin in the Upper Denkyira East Municipality, displacing about 300 students.

    The inferno, causing extensive damage to property, took the intervention of the Municipal Fire Service to bring it under control.

    It started around 1400 hours when classes were in session.

    Madam Grace Anapong, the Head Mistress of the School, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, appealed to the Government, non-governmental organisations, old students and stakeholders to go to their aid.

    She said the School was looking for a temporary accommodation for the displaced students, who had their personal effects destroyed.

    Meanwhile investigations have commenced to ascertain the cause of fire.

    Source: ghananewsagency.org

  • Fire guts Burma Camp Battalion Market

    The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) is investigating the cause of the fire, which gutted the Battalion Market at Burma Camp Saturday evening.

    The fire started around 1900 hours and partially destroyed 10 metal containers while seven wooden structures were totally burnt.

    Divisional Officer (DO) Grade II, Ellis Okoh, the Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the Service received a distress call at 1940 hours on Saturday and arrived at the scene at 2000 hours.

    With two fire tenders, the firefighters completely doused the blaze at 2050 hours. There were, however, no casualties.

    DO Okoh said the weather condition was a contributory factor to the current fire outbreaks and appealed to all to take precautionary measures.

    He urged the public to volunteer information to help establish the cause of fires.

     

    Source: ghananewsagency.org

  • Bush fire catastrophe: two hunters roasted, one confirmed dead

    Two men identified as Sulemana Abdallah and Osman Sadat believed to be in their late 20s have on Sunday 26th Jan. 2020, were found roasted around Nanzun in the karaga District of the northern region as a result of bush fire.

    Osman Sadat died upon arrival at the Tamale Teaching Hospital and has since been barred in accordance with the Islamic culture whilst Sulemana Abdallah is still in a critical condition.

    Their belongings; mobile phones, motor bicycle keys and their clothing were burnt to ashes. On the outer skin of Sadat, his hair, beard, both finger and foot nails and anything that can burn has burnt.

    “We saw a rabbit fast approaching and we traced it to that bush, we decided to set the bush ablaze before we realized we were surrounded by the fire. I told my friend, let’s remove our dresses and run naked out of the fire, Sadat refused but I did, that’s how I managed to survived it,” Sulemana Abdallah revealed.

    Both Sadat and Sulemana are natives of Dungu and Sugashee respectively. Their families have accepted the sad news and equally attributed it to the will of Allah.

    The negative impact of bush fire in northern Ghana can never be underestimated as over 400 hectares of rice farms along the Fumbisi-Gbedembilisi-Yagaba rice valleys were completely burned by the bush fire a month ago.

    Despite several campaigns by the government to end bush fire menace, the situation seems to be in the ascendancy.

     

    Source: Mohammed Gibreel

  • Two die, houses burnt as pipeline explodes in Lagos

    There was panic in the Ekoro area of Abule-Egba of Lagos State on Sunday when a pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation exploded.

    Two persons were confirmed dead in the inferno, which began around 8.02pm, and was still raging as of the time of filing this report, with sources alleging that it was caused by the activities of vandals, who allegedly ruptured the pipeline in a bid to steal fuel.

    An eyewitness, who identified himself simply as Ito, said the incident had created tension in the community, adding that many residents abandoned their homes for fear of being burnt.

    Read:Fire guts Gusau Federal Medical Centre mortuary

    “The vandals, who ruptured the NNPC pipeline in the area, caused the fire incident. The fire started around 8pm and many people died, while others ran helter-skelter.”

    The Director-General, Lagos State Fire Service, Margaret Adeseye, said personnel from three fire service stations had been deployed in the area to curtail the inferno, adding that no casualty had been recorded.

    “Yes, a fire incident is ongoing. Personnel from three of our stations are present at the scene of the inferno. The fire is still on, but under control; we deployed personnel from the Agege, Alausa and Abesan fire stations in the area. The cause of the fire is still under investigation; no casualty has been recorded for now.”

    Read:Fire guts shops, carpenter with mild stroke burnt to death

    Also, the Director-General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Oluwafemi Oke-Osanyintolu, who confirmed the incident, said, “A raging fire from the explosion of a vandalised NNPC pipeline has caused panic among residents of Awori, U-turn and Pipeline communities in Abule-Egba. LASEMA and the Lagos State Fire Service are responding and on top of the situation.”

    He confirmed that two adults died in the inferno, while 11 trucks laden with 40-foot containers as well as seven houses were razed by the fire.

    An eyewitness said the fire was coming out from the ruptured point, adding that firefighters could not go near the point, but were ensuring that the fire would not spread to neighbouring properties.

    The Public Relations Officer of the state fire service, Jamiu Dosumu, said the General Manager, NNPC, Mosimin Depot, Bayo Ojo, confirmed that the pipeline had been shut down to reduce the intensity of the fire.

    Source: punchng.com

  • Fire guts parts of Accra Academy

    Portions of Accra Academy near Kaneshie in Accra have reportedly been gutted by fire.

    The fire which is said to have started at around 7 pm on Wednesday reportedly engulfed parts of some dormitories  Alema and Halm Addo halls  while the students were in their classrooms during prep time.

    Some social media users are already circulating videos of the incident as firefighters battle the raging inferno.

    Students have reportedly been evacuated to prevent any loss of lives as some personal property have already been lost in the flames

    However, it is unclear what triggered the incident.

    School authorities are yet to comment on the matter but JoyNews understands no casualties have been recorded.


    Source: myjoyonline.com

  • Fire ravages 17 stores in Ashanti Region, only a Bible survived

    A devastating fire outbreak at Asokwa Tunsuom in the Ashanti Region has led to the destruction of 17 stores.

    The sad incident is said to have happened on January 6, with properties worth thousands of cedis also getting destroyed.

    Classfmonline reports that, while the stores were completely burnt, a Bible was the only thing to escape unscathed.

    This came as a huge shock to persons who were at the scene after the Bible was retrieved from the debris.

    243 fires recorded in less than two weeks Fire Service

    Among the stores destroyed were provision shops, a book shop, a pharmacy and others made of freight containers.

    Meanwhile, a swift response from fire fighters in Bekwai and Fomena helped to put out the fire before it could cause further damage.

    The Bekwai Municipal Fire Commander, DO2 Amos Abban, said no lives were lost, adding that investigations are ongoing to ascertain the cause of the fire.

    Source: pulse.com.gh

  • Fire guts shops, carpenter with mild stroke burnt to death

    A carpenter has died in a fire outbreak at Asamankese in the Eastern Region.

    The carpenter reported be a stroke patient was burnt while asleep in his shop.

    The fire outbreak which occurred 31st December 2019 around 10 pm also affected two other stores.

    Bush fires ravage rice farms in northern regions

    The West Akim Municipal Director of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Addo Kwasi Annor, in an interview with Starr News, said a preliminary investigation by officials of Ghana National Fire Service suggests electrical fault as the cause of the incident.

    “According to the fire officers, it was electrical problems. It affected two stores and a carpentry shop. The carpenter had a mild stroke so he was sleeping there so when the incident happened he got burnt. So there was one Casualty.”

    Fire ravages 7 vehicles at Osu

    The NADMO Director said, already, the organization had begun initiating measures to insure stores in the area while providing fire extinguishers to them.

    “The most important thing is to let them have insurance.so I brought SIC after some shops were gutted by fire. Some four stores were affected. So far 54 stores have been issued. The next thing is public education, we are also giving them fire extinguishers. So far we have distributed about 40 of them.”

    Meanwhile, the Municipal Chief Executive for the area, Seth Oduro, has visited the scene and the bereaved family to commiserate with them.

    Source: starrfm.com.gh

  • GNFS records 12.6 per cent in fire reduction in 2019

    The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has recorded 12.6 per cent reduction in total cases of fire outbreaks as against that of 2018.

    Mr Edwin Ekow Blankson, the Chief Fire Officer of the GNFS, who revealed this said, as at November 2019 the total number of fire responded to, was 4,593 as against the 4,957 recorded in 2018.

    The CFO made this known at the Service annual festival of nine lessons and carols and thanksgiving service on Friday in Accra.

    Read: Christmas lights can trigger fire outbreaks Fire Service warns

    It was on the theme; “Give Thanks to God in All Things.”

    He said the Service did not also record mass casualties like previous years.

    Mr Blankson noted that education on fire safety issues and causes of fire outbreaks led to the reduction and that in spite of this, they would intensify the educational drive to further reduce these occurrences.

    He said the Service, for this reason is in collaboration with Infrared Imaging Solutions (IRIS) to assist in the inspections and investigations to ascertain likely spots or defects on buildings that are likely to cause fires.

    “We have also linked up with University of Cape Coast (UCC) Forensic Department to assist us unravel causes of certain fire outbreaks, especially ones that are suspected to have criminal motives,” he stated.

    He urged all to be fire ambassadors where ever they find themselves to make this year’s Christmas celebration fire free.

    He said it was necessary to curtail fire in all aspects to save lives and property.

    “As we celebrate the birth of Christ, let us do everything in moderation because the life style we live can make and unmake us,” he stated.

    Outlining some of the Service achievements for the year 2019, CFO said the service has exceeded the Internally Generated Fund (IGF) target set by the Ministry of Finance by 6.6%.

    Also three officers have been sponsored to the Central Lancashire University in the United Kingdom to pursue a master’s degree in fire safety management, he said.

    He assured that the GNFS would have best facilities in the history of the Service by 2020 and all court issues would also be resolved.

    Read: New Juaben Fire Service staff complain about old fire truck

    He appealed to residents to assist the Service to maintain the progress made in fire prevention to ensure that the menace of fire outbreaks would be reduced drastically.

    Rev. Major Cynthia Kumitse, the Chaplain of the Ghana Armed Forces, in her exhortation admonished all to be thankful to God in every situation they find themselves.

    She also advised the officers to enjoy the festive season and ensure that their families were happy.

    The thanksgiving service featured prayer intercessions for good leadership, peace, God’s guidance for families of deceased officers, divine blessings and protection, prayer for the Chief Fire Officer and directors and for the good of the nation.

     

    Source: ghananewsagency.org

  • Fire guts toilet roll factory at Gomoa Budumburam

    Fire gutted the Bobo Toilet Roll factory at Aprah, a suburb of Gomoa Budumburam in the Central Region on Saturday afternoon.

    The blaze started around 1:00 pm. The cause of the fire was unknown at the time this report was being published.

    Read: Over 30 passengers escape death as bus catches fire

    Officers at the Ghana National Fire Service in Gomoa Budumburam were brought in but it took them close to eight hours to quench the fire.

    The Bobo toilet roll factory earlier this year caught fire destroying properties running into millions of Ghana cedis.

    Read: Fire guts tanker yard at Kpone [Video]

     

    The incident also led to the majority of its workers being laid off.

    The Chinese nationals who own the company have refused to comment on the latest incident.

    But the Ghana National Fire Service at Gomoa Budumburam says it will investigate the matter and ascertain the cause of the fire.

     

    Source: citinewsroom 

  • Fire destroys 15 tankers belonging to Goodness Energy

    A fuel tanker yard belonging to Goodness Energy at Kpone was on Wednesday [2 October] night gutted by fire.

    Fifteen tankers were torched leading to a loss of millions of cedis.

    It is not clear what caused the fire which begun at about 8pm.

    Read: Fire guts tanker yard at Kpone [Video]

    About five fire tenders reported to the accident scene to help douse the inferno.

    Investigations have begun to unravel the cause of the fire.

     

    Source: classfmonline.com

  • Fire guts tanker yard at Kpone [Video]

     

    A fire has gutted a tanker yard around the Kpone tank farm area.

    About 15 fuel tankers have been affected by the fire.

    Six fire tenders from various fire stations have been dispatched to the fire to control the blaze.

     

    Source: citinewsroom 

  • Capel St Mary house fire leaves two dead

    Two people have died in a house fire in a Suffolk village.

    Fire crews were called to the semi-detached house in Chapel Close, Capel St Mary, just after 08:00 BST today.

    Suffolk Fire Service area commander Ian Bowell said crews had made attempts to enter the house, and the blaze had affected a neighbouring property.

    “I’m sad to say two people have lost their lives this morning and we have a community in a state of shock,” he said.

    Read:Electrical fault caused Liberia school fire

    Roads around the area have been closed and more than 60 firefighters remain at the scene.

    “It is a very serious incident for us to deal with because the blaze is still burning,” Mr Bowell told the BBC.

    “We got a call to house fire and en route learned that there were people inside, so the first crew’s efforts were to try and rescue those people.

    “We were confronted with flames coming out of most of the windows and doors.”

    Read:Drones hit 2 Saudi Aramco oil facilities, cause fires

    He said crews would remain in the area for the rest of the day.

    Witness Karen Rodrigues described feeling “helpless” as flames tore through the building.

    “I awoke to hear people shouting for help, I looked out and saw smoke coming from the property,” she said.

    “The flames were very intense, you could see it raging through the house.”

    Source: bbc.com

  • Drones hit 2 Saudi Aramco oil facilities, cause fires

    Drone attacks have caused fires at two major facilities run by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant.

    Citing an interior ministry spokesperson, the official Saudi Press Agency said on Saturday the blazes at the facilities in Abqaiq – home to the company’s largest oil processing plant – and Khurais were under control.

    “At 4.00am (01:00 GMT) the industrial security teams of Aramco started dealing with fires at two of its facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais as a result of … drones,” it said.

    The ministry did not identify the source of the attack and said investigations were ongoing. It did not specify if there were any casualties or whether operations at the two facilities had been affected.

    Read:Worcester Park fire: Blaze engulfs four-storey London block of flats

    Online videos showed smoke rising above the company’s facility in Abqaiq as what appeared to be gunfire could be heard in the background.

    In recent months, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have carried out a series of similar attacks targeting Saudi air bases and other facilities in what they say is retaliation for a years-long bombing campaign by a Saudi-led military coalition on areas held by the Houthis.

    The Houthis did not immediate claim responsibility for Saturday’s attacks, but their official media said it would release an “important statement” about a major drone operation in the kingdom.

    Last month, an attack claimed by the Houthis sparked a fire at Aramco’s Shaybah natural gas liquefaction facility but no casualties were reported by the company.

    Key facilities

    Saudi Aramco describes its Abqaiq oil processing facility, some 60 kilometres (37 miles) southwest of Dhahran in the kingdom’s Eastern Province, as “the largest crude oil stabilisation plant in the world”.

    The facility processes sour crude oil into sweet crude, then later transports onto transhipment points on the Gulf and the Red Sea. Estimates suggest it can process up to seven million barrels of crude oil a day.

    The plant has been targeted in the past – in February 2006, al-Qaeda-claimed suicide bombers tried but failed to attack the oil complex.

    The Khurais complex is located about 160km (99 miles) from the capital, Riyadh. It has estimated reserves of more than 20bn barrels of oil, according to Aramco.

    ‘Major blow’

    There was no immediate effect on global oil prices as markets were closed for the weekend across the world.

    Benchmark Brent crude had been trading at just above $60 a barrel.

    Read:Firefighters battle massive wildfires in Portugal

    Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, who has examined the strategic importance of the oil giant in his documentary titled Saudi Aramco: The Company and the State, said the attack “is going to be a major blow for oil production”.

    “Saudi Aramco is not an ordinary company. It is a company which runs the country,” he said from Doha.

    “We don’t know how much of the facility has been damaged but this will bring down Saudi oil production to a fraction of what it is now. This will also have an impact on global oil production.”

    The attacks come as Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading crude exporter, steps up preparations for a much-anticipated initial public offering of Aramco.

    The company is ready for a two-stage stock market debut including an international listing “very soon”, its CEO Amin Nasser told reporters earlier this week.

    Source: aljazeera.com

  • Worcester Park fire: Blaze engulfs four-storey London block of flats

    About 125 firefighters are tackling a major blaze at a block of flats in south-west London.The fire quickly spread to all four floors of the building in Sherbrooke Way, Worcester Park, after fire crews were called just before 01:30 BST.

    Some 20 fire engines were at the scene, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said. The cause of the fire is not yet known and no injuries have been reported.

    The fire was under control at 06:30 but crews will remain there during the day.

    Dean Fowler, who lives with his family on the top floor of the building, said he was woken in the night by someone banging on his door.

    Read:Amazon fires: The tragic couple who died protecting their home

    “I then heard someone screaming ‘there’s a fire, get out’, and I just got my boys and went,” he said.

    He added he had only been living in the building for three weeks and had lost “everything” in the blaze, but “we’re alive, we’re breathing, that’s all that matters”.

     

    The building is made up of 23 flats and based in The Hamptons estate, which was built on a former sewage treatment works.

    Residents from the block as well as other surrounding buildings have been taken to a nearby community centre.

    One of those, Darren Nicholson, said he woke up to the sound of “crackling” and when he opened the curtains he “saw the flames and got myself and the family out”.

    He said fire alarms were going off in the community areas but not in his own flat and he believed the blaze began “on the balconies”.

    Read:Amazon wildfires: Brazil and France clash over burning rainforest

    BBC Radio London correspondent Greg McKenzie said white smoke was still “billowing” from the building which had been left as a “shell”.

    Graham Adams, from London Fire Brigade, said: “This is a challenging fire and firefighters are working hard to bring the blaze under control.

    “Firefighters will remain on scene for a number of hours and we would urge people to avoid the area if possible.”

    London Ambulance Service said: “We have not treated any patients, however we remain on the scene as a precaution.”

    Source: bbc.com