By TRAGEDY struck in the early hours of Sunday when the Mgbuke village Umunnachi section of the popular Aforigwe Market in Umudioka community, Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State, was gutted by fire.
The early morning inferno reportedly destroyed scores of shops and goods worth millions of naira at the market, which is located along the Old Onitsha–Awka Road.
According to an eyewitness who pleaded anonymity, the cause of the fire was still sketchy but may not be unconnected with a power surge.
The witness said officials of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) stormed the scene immediately and disconnected power cables to prevent electrocution.
Shops affected included provision stores, bread depots and outlets selling electrical appliances, all of which lost wares estimated to be worth millions of naira.
When journalists visited the scene, victims were seen crying and wailing, lamenting that wealth which took them decades to acquire had been reduced to ashes “within the twinkle of an eye”.
One of the affected traders, an electrical shop owner, said, “I had just restocked my shop twice before the tragic incident occurred.”
Large numbers of sympathisers also gathered at the market to catch a glimpse of the destruction and commiserate with those affected by the unfortunate incident.
They appealed to the Anambra State Government, good-spirited individuals and organisations to come to the aid of the victims, whose hopes of brisk Christmas sales this Yuletide had been dashed by the fire.
As of the time of filing this report, fire service personnel were nowhere to be seen, and nothing was salvaged from the inferno, which completely destroyed the wares.
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