By Daniel Tyokua
The Popular Karmo market in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was on Thursday burnt down by fire outbreak leaving the traders stranded.
The inferno which an eyewitness confirmed stated around 12.20am destroyed property worth millions of naira.
One of the traders, Murtala Ibrahim, said about “300 makeshift shops were destroyed by the fire, before it was brought under control around 2am by combined efforts of the fire fighters from the government’s agencies and companies.
He said the fire started from a shop where drinks were sold and extended to various sections of the market.
The affected areas included provisions, building materials, electronics, stationery, cosmetics shops, among others
.
“Many traders who rushed to the scene on getting the information were restricted by the police and members of vigilante groups from jumping into the burning shops in an attempt to salvage some items,” Ibrahim added.
The AUTHORITY recall that a similar incident occurred in the market last October, but a trader Shehu Ahmad, said the present incident was the worse one.
However, the Director General FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Abbas Idriss commended the search and rescue team of the agency, shop owners , security agencies, community leaders and the people of Karmo for their efforts to salvage some goods and properties from the inferno.
The DG informed that there were no casualties during the incident, but goods worth millions of naira were destroyed. According to Idriss.
