Several persons were reportedly injured with about four burnt to death as fire gutted the Onitsha Chemical Market, Onitsha, Anambra state.
Sources claimed that the inferno, which started about 12:10pm, Tuesday, also destroyed multi-million naira worth of goods and buildings.
Blueprint reports that the inferno caused stampede at the market as traders scampered for safety amid the inferno.
“We saw four corpses being recovered from the fire during the inferno. But we can’t tell the hospital they were taken to. About 12 persons sustained various levels of injury in the process,” a source stated.
Speaking on the incident, chairman of Onitsha South local government area, Mr Emeka Orji, said they quickly contacted the Anambra State Fire Service and Divisional Police Office Fegge, who deployed their officers to put off the fire and restore peace to the area.
“We cannot ascertain the number of deaths and the injured for now because some of the victims have been rushed to medical facilities around the area and we are happy that most of them are responding to treatment,” he added.
Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident, saying no life was lost but that some could be injured during the fire incident.
