Fire - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

Five killed in fire at Perenco oil platform offshore Gabon

FIVE people were killed and one is missing after a fire at a Perenco oil platform off the coast of Gabon, the Anglo-French oil company said in a statement. "Following the incident which took place yesterday at the Perenco Simba field offshore Gabon, the fire has been extinguished and the site has been safely secured," Perenco said. "We deeply regret to confirm that there have been five fatalities and one person is still missing." The accident occurred on Wednesday afternoon at the Becuna platform during a "workover" operation, an intervention done inside oil wells, said Gabon's oil ministry in an…

Sep

2023

By AMINA ISMAIL and TIMOUR AZHARI

Iraq wedding fire kills more than 100, relatives identify bodies

WORLD

A fire ripped through a packed wedding hall in northern Iraq, killing more than 100 people in a Christian town that had survived Islamic State occupation. Firefighters searched the charred remains of the building in Qaraqosh, also known as Hamdaniya, through Wednesday morning and bereaved relatives gathered outside a morgue in the nearby city of Mosul, wailing and rocking in distress. Several sources in Qaraqosh said the bride and groom had survived the fire, but Reuters was not immediately able to confirm that or speak to their families. "This was not a wedding. This was hell," said Mariam Khedr, crying…

Sep

2023

By The African Mirror

Fire in shop kills 35 people in southeastern Benin

NEWS

AT least 35 people were killed in southeastern Benin after a fire broke out at a shop where witnesses said gasoline was being unloaded, a justice ministry representative said. The fire broke out at 0930 local time in Seme-Podji municipality, near the border with Nigeria. "The fire burned down the store and according to an initial assessment resulted in 35 deaths including one child," said Prosecutor Abdoubaki Adam-Bongle in a ministry statement, adding that an investigation had been opened to determine the cause. "According to the witnesses interviewed, the fire was probably started during the unloading of bags of gasoline."…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Three British tourists missing after fire on boat in Red Sea

NEWS

THREE British tourists were missing and 12 had been rescued after a motor boat caught fire on Sunday off the Egyptian Red Sea coast, Egyptian officials and security sources said. The survivors were brought to safety in the nearby diving resort of Marsa Shagra, about 21km (13 miles) north of the town of Marsa Alam, along with 12 Egyptian crew and guides, according to a statement from the Red Sea State governor's office and two security sources. The fire was caused by an electrical short circuit on the boat, which was named Hurricane and had been on a trip since…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Fire at India’s Serum Institute kills 5, AstraZeneca vaccine output unaffected

WORLD

A big fire at the Serum Institute of India has killed five people, a government official told reporters, but the world's biggest vaccine maker said it would not affect the production of the AstraZeneca coronavirus shot. Videos and pictures from Reuters partner ANI showed black smoke billowing from a multi-storey building in SII's massive headquarters complex in the city of Pune in Maharashtra state. "We have learnt that there has unfortunately been some loss of life at the incident," SII Chief Executive Adar Poonawalla said on Twitter. "We are deeply saddened and offer our deepest condolences to the family members…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Ten Tanzanian schoolchildren killed in dormitory fire

NEWS

NUZULACK DAUSEN TEN Tanzanian schoolchildren were killed when a dormitory at a privately-owned primary school in the north of the country caught fire, a senior government official said on Monday. Police, the fire department and other government officials have started an investigation into the fire, the cause of which is unknown, Marco Gaguti, the regional commissioner for Kagera, told Reuters by phone. "This dormitory was housing 74 pupils and when it caught fire the pupils started fleeing, but due to the impact of the fire some couldn't make it on time," Gaguti said. Seven other children suffered from burns during…