There was pandemonium at Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos, on Thursday, when a shore crane working on a vessel caught fire.
Export cargoes worth several thousand of US Dollars onboard a Hapag Lloyd vessel were, however, rescued from destruction.
The incident happened at Terminal C of the Tin-Can Island Port, Lagos, under the management of Port & Cargo Handling Services (P&CHS), a subsidiary of Sifax Group.
However, the combined efforts of fire fighters and dock workers salvaged the crane and stopped the fire from escalating to the vessel at berth.
It was further gathered that the fire outbreak started 11:00 hours and it was put off within 30 minutes.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP, a dockworker who didn’t want his name in print, said no casualty was recorded as the other shore crane operator rescued the operator of the burning crane with his spreader.
“This incident took place at the quay side of Ports And Cargo Container Terminal at Tin-Can Island Port and it was only that mobile Crane that was affected because another crane operator used his crane spreader to rescue the operator of the burning crane,” he said.
Also, speaking to LEADERSHIP, the spokesman of Sifax Group, Muyiwa Akande, said it was a minor fire incident that gutted a shore crane and has been put under control.
He said, “One of our equipment had fault and while trying to change position for a serviceable one, it caught fire. It is a crane not vessel that caught fire,” he explained.
