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To: Wowzer who wrote (44911)	5/18/1999 10:26:00 AM
From: Think4Yourself	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

OOOoooopppppppsss! SOMEONE has a gasoline SHORTAGE now!! Rekindled Abidjan Fire Still Burning Africa News Service Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (PANA) - The huge fire which first broke out in Abidjan last week but put under control Saturday, has gained momentum after restarting Sunday afternoon. The rekindling, which the minister of energy, Safiatou Ba N'daw said was provoked by strong coastal winds, came as a surprise and embarrassment to both firemen and government officials who were fast in announcing their earlier success story. All through Sunday and Monday, huge clouds of oily smoke could be seen hanging over Abidjan as the fire renewed its burning of 23,000 metric tonnes of refined petrol at the depot of Cote d'Ivoire Petrol Security Stock Company, located at the Vridi industrial zone. Abidjan residents were alerted Thursday at the outbreak, which N'daw attribured to a short circuit of a pipeline through which highly inflammable petrol was being transferred from one tanker to another. French firemen were called to the rescue Friday, after local firemen had failed to extinguish the fire. People breathed a sigh of relief as government officials proudly but prematurely announced that all was under control. To their surprise, however, the fire erupted again like a valcano as the French firemen, who brought along 10 tonnes of equipment, were packing their equipment to leave. N'daw appeared on national television Sunday night to announce that the only means to definitely put the fire out would be the use of a specific fire fighting foam, which unfortunately has been exhausted in the country. "We have to wait for at least 24 hours to get new deliveries to help us put the fire out completely," she said. Meanwhile, the fire is creating fear among the 2.5 million inhabitants of Abidjan that it might spread to the nearby oil refinery. However, N'daw assured that all the necessary security measures have been taken to prevent such an event from occurring. The Cote d'Ivoire Petrol Security Stock Company was established in 1983 to manage the country's security of petrol. It has three depots, including the one on fire. According to N'daw, the depots have a total capacity of 400,000 metric tonnes. All petrol stock in the country at the time of the accident was estimated at 100,000 metric tonnes. Landlocked Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad which rely on Cote d'Ivoire for petrol imports, are expected to be affected by the outbreak, which has so far left nine billion CFA francs worth of damages, according to N'daw. (Copyright 1999 Panafrican News Agency.) Distributed via Africa News Online by Africa News Service. (Copyright 1999 Africa News Service)