November 08, (THEWILL) – Many people were feared dead and several others injured on Tuesday, following a fire outbreak from an explosion at a Chemical Market In Onitsha, Anambra State.
The incident which occurred at about 12:30 p.m equally destroyed goods and properties worth millions of naira.
Chukwulota Ndubuisi, chairman of the market, who confirmed the incident to newsmen, said he would not be able to give details of the incident immediately.
But a statement by the Chairman of Anambra State Fire Service, Martin Agbili, said firefighters were deployed in the market in response to a distress call, adding that some fighters from the Federal Fire Service attached to Anambra State joined to put off the fire.
Agbili confirmed that the fire was caused by a chemical explosion and that it led to the collapse of some buildings in the market.
He said “some people” died in the fire incident but added that the “total number of casualties has not been ascertained.”
Nweke Uchenna, one of the traders, said: “We were at our shops as usual when we heard a loud noise like a bomb blast and we saw thick smoke from some shops upstairs and everyone started running for safety.
“Then people started shouting for help and we saw people carrying bodies of people from those shops that were on fire and some were burnt pretty badly while some seem to have been suffocated by the smoke and the stampede.
“We don’t know how much has been lost to the fire but it can be estimated at N850 million to about N1 billion because the goods are strong chemical products that are highly inflatable.
“We are happy that the Anambra State Fire Service came on time to prevent the inferno from going deep into the market.”
Another shop owner in the market, John Oparaji, said the fire started after an explosion occurred at a chemical and surgical line of the market.
He said “many people died” in the fire outbreak but he saw only two corpses after the incident.
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