Reports have it that fire on Monday, December 7, razed the popular Ochanja market in Anambra state’s commercial hub. Leadership reports that the inferno which occurred at two different times, first at around 5.pm on Sunday, December 6, and another at about 3.am yesterday.
It was reported that the fire killed one person and injured five others. The fire also razed no fewer than 15 shops in the market.
Reacting to the sad incident, the state Governor, Willie Obiano, cancelled the regular Monday state’s Executive Council meeting and rushed to the scene of the incident in the morning to ascertain the level of destruction.
Addressing those affected by the tragic incident, the governor while expressing his sympathy promised to set up an investigative panel to probe the cause of the inferno in order to avert a re-occurrence. Also speaking to newsmen, the state command spokesman, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr. Okechukwu Ali, confirmed the tragedy. He said the deceased was one of the officials of the State Fire Service who helped in stopping the fire from spreading.
Ali commended the bravery of the fire servicemen, noting that if not for their agility, the fire would have escalated to other parts of the market.
A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the fire service men successfully put out the fire when it first started on Sunday evening. He disclosed that: “N1.5million was recovered from one of the shops and handed over to the owner of the shop.”
“The second fire started about 3am yesterday from one of the shops and extended to about 15 of them despite the efforts of the fire service men and others who battled to quench the inferno,” he stated.
The source further hinted that the deceased was an operative of the Fire Service from Onitsha Main Market who came to put out the fire.
“He met his untimely death when he climbed a storey building to spread the water to the inferno from there but unfortunately for him, the building collapsed and he died in the process,” the source said.
The eyewitness said another fire service operative broke one of his legs while four other of his colleagues sustained various degrees of injuries. Meanwhile, the cause of the fire could not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report, but the police spokesman assured that investigation had commenced to unravel the cause of the tragic incident.
Onitsha, the commercial city of Anambra state, has been in the news of late as it would be recalled that few days ago, the pro-Biafra protest going on in parts of the country turned bloody after protesters clashed with officials of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF). Nine people were reportedly killed and 18 others were injured.
Just one month ago, the popular Onitsha electronics international market, the commercial nerve center of Anambra state, was also gutted by fire on Tuesday, October 13. Recently, the mechanic village located in the Agidingbi axis of Lagos state was gulped by fire, which destroyed 23 vehicles, generators, computers and gas cylinders.