By Desire Emmanuel
Traders at the popular Onitsha Bridge Head Market in Anambra State on Saturday, March 21, bemoaned their fate after a midnight inferno destroyed goods and properties worth several millions of naira in the market.
The tragedy occurred at midnight on Saturday at the market located in Onitsha South Local Government Area of the state as a number of shops were razed.
Some of the traders arrived at the market on Saturday morning and beheld their shops in ruins as a result of the fire incident.
It was gathered that mostly affected by the fire were some of the shops in the section of the market where drugs are sold.
Reports also said while the fire was raging, some persons who were around made frantic efforts to battle it before the arrival of fire-fighters but their efforts did not yield any result due to the intensity of the fire.
Speaking on the fire incident, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the market, Chinedu Ezekwike, said when he was called regarding the fire, he made a distress call to the Chairman of Onitsha South Local Government Area who responded immediately and contacted fire service personnel.
The state fire service also confirmed the inferno in a statement by its head of communication, Mr. Chukwudi Chiketa.
The spokesman of the fire service said: “Yes, there was a fire at the market at about midnight. The cause of the fire has yet to be ascertained, but it was so massive that it destroyed some shops at the drug section.”
