HODEIDA: Firefighting teams on Monday were struggling to contain a massive blaze at Yemen's Hodeida port, days after a deadly Israeli strike damaged oil storage facilities and endangered aid ships in the harbour.
Heavy flames and black smoke were seen spiralling into the sky for a third consecutive day following the strike on Saturday, said a correspondent in Hodeida.
Firefighting teams appear to have made little progress, with the blaze seemingly expanding in some parts of the port, the correspondent said, amid fears it could reach food storage facilities.
High-resolution satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies showed flames consuming a heavily damaged fuel storage area at the Hodeida harbour.
Analysis of satellite imagery from Planet by Dutch peace organisation PAX showed at least 33 destroyed oil storage tankers, said Wim Zwijnenburg, a project leader with the organisation.
"We expect to find more damage, as not all storage tanks are visible because of heavy smoke" from the fire and burning fuel, Zwijnenburg said.
The fuel depot is run by the Yemen Petroleum Company which said late Sunday that the six people killed in the Israel strike were its employees.
The Yemenis say more than 80 others were wounded in the attack, many of them with severe burns. With black smoke billowing overhead, a funeral ceremony was held on Monday for the victims of the strikes. Their coffins were carried through the streets of Hodeida, flanked by crowds and led by a marching band.
Yemeni port authorities said Hodeida "is operating at its full capacity", the rebels' Saba news agency reported. "We are working around the clock to receive all ships and there is no concern about the supply chain and supplies of food, medicine, and oil derivatives," port official Nasr al-Nusairi was quoted by Saba as saying on Sunday.
But the US-based Navanti Group said the strikes on Hodeida destroyed five cranes and reduced the port's fuel storage capacity from 150,000 to 50,000 tonnes.
The World Food Programme on Monday said that there had been "minor" damage to a crane on one of its aid vessels in the port and that its fuel storage facility was impacted.
The ship "remains operational," but "all 780,000 litres of fuel stock was likely destroyed," said Pierre Honnorat, WFP's Yemen country director.
Hodeida's port is a vital entry point for fuel imports and international aid for several areas of Yemen. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
