FROM ONYEKACHUKWU MELUWA, Port Harcourt
Early morning inferno yesterday destroyed property worth millions of naira at 57 Azikiwe Street, Mile 2, Diobu, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, leaving several residents homeless and traders counting their losses.
The fire, which started around 3am while many tenants were asleep and shop owners had closed for the day, gutted warehouses, shops, and parts of residential buildings in the busy commercial area. The cause of the blaze was yet to be determined at press time.
One of the affected traders, Mr Wisdom Jack, a dealer in ice block machines, said he lost everything in the incident.
“Both the ice block machines, including those companies gave me to mould, were all destroyed. I have lost over ten million naira. I don’t have anybody to run to at the moment,” Jack lamented.
Another victim, Mr. Chigozie, said the fire wiped out his entire livelihood.
“I have two buttonhole machines, two weaving machines, three industrial machines, and over one million naira cash that I kept in my shop. I lost all. But I know my God will make a way for me,” he said.
It was gathered that personnel of the Rivers State Fire Service battled the flames from 3am until about 7am, preventing it from spreading to a nearby liquor warehouse. Five firefighting trucks were deployed to the scene.
The Divisional Police Officer of Azikiwe Division, alongside his men, was on ground to prevent looting and assist in rescuing trapped tenants from their apartments.
As of the time of filing this report, the Rivers State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement. Calls and messages to the command’s spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, were not responded to.
