Traders wailed uncontrollably early Tuesday morning as they watched
their goods go up in flames at the popular Ogbeogonogo market in the
heart of Asaba, Delta state capital.
Ogbogonogo
Modern Market, is the major foodstuff and commodities market spreading
linear about a kilometre along the ever busy Nnebisi Road and running
down the banks of the River Niger.
The inferno,
which gutted a section of the market, was said to have started at about
8am, consuming the entire livestock section and a section of the
tailoring materials and fabrics line.
Although
there was no report of loss of life, but chicken and goats were roasted
while sewing machines, tailoring items and other goods worth millions of
naira, were lost to the raging fire
As at the
time of filing this report, the cause of the inferno was not known, but
market sources attributed it to an electrical fault which sparked and
ignited the lightning that characterised the early morning rain.
Our
correspondent gathered that the state government through the Delta
State Capital Territory Development Agency, visited the scene of the
fire.
Director General of the agency, Mrs.
Amaechi Mrakpor was said to be one of the early callers while the fire
was still raging and sympathised with affected traders. She however kept
mute during the visit.
The DSCTDA had issued a three-month ultimatum to the traders to vacate the area and secure spaces inside the main market.
Chairman
of Oshimili South Local Government Area, Comrade Uche Osadebe who later
came to the scene, called in the services of an excavator to clear the
burnt shops to enable the fire service truck gain access into the market
to put off the fire completely.
Meanwhile the
traders were already counting their losses. One of the affected traders
said “I am finished! All my sewing machines are gone. Even materials
that I collected from customers all got burnt in the shop.”
An
eyewitness said that angry traders almost lynched a police officer at
the scene as people were scampering for safety, trying to salvage their
goods but were prevented from having a free-for-all.
“The first state fire service truck that came to rescue the situation ran out of water while the fire was still on.
“As
at 9:26am, the fourth fire service truck arrived while Good Samaritans
were serving water from the gutter to quench the fire but to no avail”,
he narrated.
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 fire fighters to gain access into the market
to battle it.
