19 Mar 2018

One person escaped with minor injuries when a Botswana Railways fuel wagon exploded as employees were transferring fuel from one carrier to the other one. 

The incident which sparked frenzy in the city as a huge ball of fire was thrown into the skies with smoke bellowing from the wagons parking bay. 

The area was a hive of activity with both fire engines and police vehicles rushing to the scene to try and contain the blaze from spreading to other wagons and nearby buildings. 

According to the station officer at the Francistown City Council fire department, Mr Judas Mbulawa they received a report around 9am to the effect that a stationery wagon carrying fuel had caught fire while two employees were trying to transfer fuel. In total, he mentioned that they were four wagons and only one was affected.

 “From the information we got the wagon was carrying 55 000 litres of petrol when the fire broke out,” he said. He also mentioned that the two employees are reported to be from Impala, a company carrying out outsourced work for Botswana Railways.

 He said their initial suspicions were that the fire was started by a spark from a nearby generator. Mr Mbulawa urged people who work with flammable liquids to be careful and always have fire extinguishers in place to prevent such incidents in future and also service their electrical equipment.

 He also noted that investigations are continuing to determine what could have started the fire. In an interview, the Officer Commanding Number 15 district, Kabo Badirwang explained that after receiving reports of the fire outbreak they worked with the fire department to control it.

 “We are still investigating the cause of the fire,” he added. Attempts to speak to the Botswana Railways station manager and a representative of Impala proved futile as they refused to give a comment. Ends