Fire razes shops at Port Harcourt oil mill market

A fire incident, yesterday, destroyed goods and property worth millions of naira at the popular oil mill market, along Aba Road in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Although the cause of the fire has not been ascertained, it was learnt that it started early Saturday when traders were still in their houses. The popular mid-week market is located in Rumuokwurusi Community in Obio/Akpor Local Council of the state.

An eyewitness said the fire, which started at about 6:45a.m. raged for many hours before fire-fighters arrived at the scene.

Meanwhile, shopowners at the market are counting their losses .

Some of the traders, who spoke to The Guardian, called on relevant authorities to come to their aid.

A widow, who claimed she borrowed money to purchase the goods in her two shops, lamented: “My two shops and all the tubers of yam I bought were burnt to ashes. Who is going to help me? How do I pay back the money I borrowed?”

A middle-aged woman, Madam Ebere, affected by the fire, said she was asleep when she heard about the fire.

She lamented that a trailer load of yam, garri and charcoal, she offloaded the night before all got burnt.

“Women are crying because all they have been using to manage have been lost,” she lamented.

Speaking on the incident, Chairman, Community Development Committee (CDC), Rumuokwrushi, O. C Wosu, who said the cause of the fire was still unknown, expressed happiness that no life was lost.

e said: “I got distress calls from many traders calling me that some section of the oil mill market was on fire.”