At Least 34 People Dead at Fuel Depot Fire in Benin

At least 34 people were killed on Saturday in a fire at a smuggled fuel depot in Seme Krake, a town in Benin's southeastern department of Oueme, near the Nigerian border.

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Speaking to the press, the country's Minister of the Interior, Alassane Seidou, said that "this morning, a very serious fire occurred in Seme Podji, a commune belonging to the department of Ouémé. Unfortunately, we have recorded 34 deaths, including two infants."

According to the minister, "the cause of the fire is the contraband fuel that caught fire. Some twenty people were also injured, some of them seriously, and were admitted to hospital. At the moment, the circumstances that caused the fire are not clear."

The head of the local fire department, Dallys Ahouangbegnon, said that the fire, which broke out in a warehouse near Seme Krake's pineapple market, spread to nearby houses and vehicles.

In Benin, smuggled fuel comes from neighboring Nigeria, a major oil producer where the price of fuel is lower.

In this regard, Seidou said that "for several decades, significant state subsidies led to particularly low final fuel prices in Nigeria and illegal exports of fuel to neighboring countries, such as Benin." 

The fuel trade, which generates huge profits, also poses great risks, given the precarious conditions in which the product is stored. As a result, fires often break out and cause major losses.