Over 600 stores have been destroyed by fire at a market plaza on Kano Street, near the Main Market in Anambra State’s Onitsha district.Information Guide Nigeria
PUNCH Metro gathered that the fire, which started around 1am, was caused by a power surge from a cosmetic shop in the market.
Due to the combustible nature of several of the goods and substances in the market, the fire was claimed to have spread to other nearby shops.
At 5.13 p.m., when this report was filed, firefighters were spotted battling the fire despite having exhausted numerous tanks of water in an attempt to save the situation.
According to John Okonkwo, a market trader, the fire damaged products worth billions of naira.
He said, “The plaza belongs to importers and it is a line for all kinds of groceries, cosmetics, wines, provisions and at the moment, items worth several billions of naira have been destroyed by the fire.
“The fire started with two blocks of shops but later escalated to other shops and then the whole building. Over 600 shops were razed in that plaza.”
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Agbili said, “The cause of the fire was suspected to be a power surge which emanated from one of the cosmetics shops in the one-storey building.
“Due to the highly combustible nature of the materials and substances sold at that area, it contributed to the quick spread of the fire. The fire service was able to fight the fire to a standstill and no life was lost during the incident.”NYSC portal
The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, while reacting to the development, said the situation was under control.
Ikenga said, “The fire outbreak that occurred in the early hours of today at the Onitsha market is under control. There was no loss of life, although goods worth billions of naira have been destroyed.JAMB portal
“Preliminary information shows that the cause of the fire is as a result of electrical upsurge from a cosmetic store in the storey building. Our personnel are still there monitoring.
“The command wants to use this opportunity to advise members of the public to always turn off their appliances before leaving the house and offices.”
The state governor, Chukwuma Soludo, expressed his condolences to the owners of the impacted businesses and called the occurrence as regrettable.
Soludo said, “I commiserate with the shop owners over the inferno. As a responsive government, we are already on top of the situation, investigating the remote and immediate causes of the fire, as well as the losses incurred with a view to averting a future recurrence of the disaster.
“I encourage those affected to remain strong and resolute in the face of the extreme loss as we continue to work with relevant institutions to find lasting solutions to the perennial fire incidents across the state.”JAMB Result