Another fire razes shops in Port Harcourt, goods worth millions lost

The Gazette could not confirm the cause of the inferno, but witnesses say the inferno was caused by an electrical fault in one of the shops.

ELFREDAH KEVIN-ALERECHI • February 20, 2021

Photo of a burning market used to illustrate this story (Credit: Nigerian Guardian Newspaper)

Goods and properties worth millions of Naira were destroyed by fire on Friday night at shops on Bishop Okoye street close to the popular Mile 3 market in Rivers.

Shop owners in that vicinity mostly deal in kitchen utensils, beverages as well as perishable goods, People’s Gazette learnt.

Several videos posted on social media showed a blazing inferno of gargantuan magnitude billowing up the ashes of the razed shops. Residents were seen shouting for help.

The Gazette could not confirm the cause of the inferno, but witnesses say the inferno was caused by an electrical fault in one of the shops.

Several posts on social media claim that fire service officers were rendering help until the water in the truck finished.

State police spokesman, Nnamdi Omoni, told the Gazette that the police are still investigating the cause of the fire.

No death was recorded at the time of filing this report.

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