Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Goods worth millions of naira went up in flames in the early hours of Tuesday at the livestock section of the popular Ogbogonogo modern market along the busy Nnebisi Road in Asaba, Delta State.
The livestock section of the wet market, particularly the poultry area, was completely razed by the inferno which was said to have started at about 7 am. Goats and other livestock were not spared.
Sewing machines and other tailoring materials were also among the burnt goods. Traders at the affected section of the market wailed as sympathisers made anxious efforts to salvage what was left.
Previously, the state government had through the Delta State Capital Territory Development Agency issued a three-month ultimatum to the traders to vacate the area and secure spaces inside the main market.
The Director-General of the agency, Mrs Amaechi Mrakpor, was said to be one of the early callers while the fire was still raging to sympathise with affected traders.
‘Many traders are currently using their tooth to count their loses as the fire razed shops and goods along the Nnebisi road. The first state fire service truck that came to rescue the situation ran out of water while the fire was still on,’ Mrs Mrakpor said.
‘As at 9:26 am, the fourth fire service truck arrived while Good Samaritans were serving water from the gutter to quench the fire but to no avail,’ an eyewitness told this reporter at the time of visit.
The eyewitness said that angry traders almost lynched a police officer at the scene as people were scampering for life and trying to salvage their goods but were prevented from having a free-for-all.
Although the cause of the fire is still unknown as of press time, a trader in the market blamed it on an electrical fault which sparked from a section where mobile phones and accessories are sold.
The source disclosed that the fire spread ostensibly because of the closeness of shops to one another, a development which the source said made it difficult for the firefighters to gain access into the market to battle it.
The Chairman of Oshimili South Local Government Area, Uche Osadebe, who later came to the scene, had demanded the services of an excavator to clear the burnt shops to enable the fire service truck gain access into the market in order to completely put out the fire.