At least three persons, including a mother and child, and a trader, were burnt to death in a fuel tanker inferno at the highly populated Ochanja market in Onitsha, Anambra State, on Wednesday.
Parts of Ochanja market stalls, about 13 houses, including three four-storey buildings, about 15 vehicles, and goods estimated at over N500 million were also burnt.
Eyewitnesses said the tanker leaden with a substance suspected to be Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) lost control and fell into the drainage channel at MCC Bus Stop near Toronto Hospital, Upper-Iweka, Onitsha.
In the process, the tanker head decoupled from the trunk and continued running until it finally stopped at Down Flyover Upper Iweka, Onitsha. After some minutes the tanker exploded and its content spilled over and flowed through the drainage system, with fire.
As the fuel flowed in the drainage channels the fire continued spreading and burning many houses along Iweka road before the fire entered parts of Ochanja market.
The eyewitnesses said that the woman and her child lost their lives when she tried to jump over the big drainage channel with her child at Ochanja First Gate, but fell into the drainage and were burnt beyond recognition
Another man who had a shop at Ochanja by Zik Avenue went back to collect money he kept inside the shop while the fire was raging and was trapped there, leading to his death.
The fire was still raging at Ochanja market at the time of filing this report as some commercial banks shutdown as the fire was spreading close to their premises at Ochanja market junction.
Although security men were available at the scene, they could not do anything to stop the fire due to the absence of fire-fighting equipment. Some of the police officers told our correspondent that they could not do anything with their bare hands or guns.
They blamed the spread of the fire on the absence of fire servicemen and equipment which would have been used to stop the fire from spreading to houses and shops.
