A mini-bus and four out of the 16 dispensing pumps at the station were destroyed by the fire which started around 5 p.m.

Fire on Wednesday gutted the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) Mega Station along Ikot Ekpene Road in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

A mini-bus and four out of the 16 dispensing pumps at the station were destroyed by the fire which started around 5 p.m.

The roof housing the pumps was also partially destroyed by the fire.

An official of the Akwa Ibom State Fire Service, who identified himself as Officer Ekamba told PREMIUM TIMES no life was lost, and that the firefighters were able to put off the fire before it could spread.

Mr Ekamba said the State Fire Service would commence investigation on Thursday to ascertain the cause of the fire.

Residents of the area, including motorists who went to the station to buy fuel, were seen in clusters, discussing the incident, when a PREMIUM TIMES reporter visited the scene about an hour after the incident.

A witness told our reporter that the fire started from the pump suction nozzle that was dispensing petrol to a mini-bus.

The mini-bus owner, a commercial transport operator, PREMIUM TIMES learnt, fled for safety during the incident.

Another witness said most of the fire extinguishers brought out by NNPC station workers had long expired.

"Some of them (fire extinguishers) were as old as the station itself," he said, adding that the damage would have been catastrophic if not for the speedy intervention of fire fighters from the state fire service.