Adnan Khan, a spokesman of Nowshera Police, told The Nation by phone that the fire erupted in the afternoon at the Pakistan State Oil depot in Taru area of Nowshera district.
“The fire is huge and it could not be doused till now. Luckily there has been no loss of life. However, the fire is so much huge that even the fire brigade personnel could not get close to it for some time,” he added.
He said the losses would be assessed once the fire is brought under control. “According to the information available, 30 oil tankers have been destroyed in the incident,” he added.
Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for the Rescue 1122, said that more than 30 oil tankers had been destroyed in the incident. He said 23 fire vehicles and around 150 Rescue personnel had been sent from Peshawar, Mardan, and Nowshera stations to put off the inferno. The spokesman said that the inferno erupted around 4pm and some of the tankers were saved and driven out of the premises of the inferno while some got torched. Officials said it remains to be seen how the fire erupted and what were the reasons. They said the actual damage might also be assessed once the flames were doused.