Barran Press
The Yemeni Gas Company, a state-owned entity, preempted investigations into a gas station explosion in the Mansoura district of Aden, the temporary capital of Yemen, on Saturday, August 31, 2024, by declaring that it had not granted a license to the station. The explosion on Friday evening resulted in the deaths and injuries of dozens of civilians.
According to a statement published by the official Yemeni news agency Saba, the company announced that it "did not grant a license to the unauthorized gas station that exploded in the Mansoura district of the temporary capital Aden." The statement clarified that the company had "contacted local authorities in the liberated governorates and the temporary capital Aden, urging them to remove unauthorized gas stations located in residential areas, alleys, and neighborhoods that lack security and safety standards and do not hold any licenses to operate from the company."
The company, according to the statement, called on relevant authorities to cooperate in removing all gas stations that violate regulations for the sake of public and private interests, expressing its condolences to the families of the victims of the unauthorized gas station explosion in the Mansoura district.
Earlier on Saturday, the internationally recognized Prime Minister of Yemen, Ahmed bin Mubarak, issued a decree forming a committee to investigate the station explosion incident, which resulted in the deaths and injuries of several citizens, as well as significant material damage to property.
The Prime Minister's decision came after a direct field visit he made to the site of the gas station following the incident, to assess the aftermath of the explosion, understand the circumstances of the incident, listen to explanations from citizens and relevant authorities about the incident, and discuss precautionary measures to be taken to prevent such incidents, according to the official Yemeni news agency Saba.
The decree stipulated the formation of an investigation committee headed by the Executive Director General of the Yemeni Oil and Gas Corporation, with members representing the Ministries of Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Justice, Interior (Civil Defense Department) and (General Directorate of Criminal Evidence), and the local authority in Aden Governorate.
According to the agency, the committee is tasked with investigating the incident, understanding the circumstances of the gas filling station explosion in the Mansoura district of Aden Governorate, and submitting a report on its findings and recommendations to the Prime Minister within five days of the date of the decree.
The agency reported that Ahmed bin Mubarak also directed the Central Audit and Accounting Authority to assign a team of specialists to visit the Yemeni Gas Company to review all licenses issued for the establishment of gas stations, from 2016 to the present.
It noted that bin Mubarak's directive emphasized that the Central Audit and Accounting Authority team should ensure that the licenses issued for the establishment of gas stations comply with the standards and conditions stipulated by law.
On Friday evening, three people were killed and seven others were injured, some seriously, in an explosion at a domestic gas sales station in the city of Aden, the temporary capital of the country (southern Yemen).
According to local sources who spoke to "Barran Press," "a fire broke out at a domestic gas sales station on 90th Street in the Mansoura district, leading to a massive explosion, the sound of which was heard in various parts of the city."
They indicated that the explosion, which caused a large fire that spread to a nearby gas tanker and commercial stores, has not yet been determined. The explosion, while authorities are still investigating the incident.
Local activists posted videos on the "X" platform, which were reviewed by "Barran Press," documenting the moment of the explosion and fire at the gas station, while ambulances rushed to the scene of the explosion to provide medical care to the injured.