Diesel tanker catches fire

JEDDAH: A massive plume of black smoke was seen billowing over Jeddah’s Tahlia St. on Thursday afternoon after a diesel tanker truck caught fire.

The fire started as the tanker was offloading fuel at a construction site. No injuries were reported though the passenger in the truck had experienced minor shock at the experience.

“I don’t know how the fire started,” said Abu Faraj, the truck’s driver. “I saw smoke coming from the back of tanker . . . it spread out quickly to a nearby shack.” Four Civil Defense firefighting teams responded to the precarious situation and managed to extinguish the flames and prevent an explosion. The cost of damage to the site is being assessed.