A Rice Mill Company located at Onuebonyi, within Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital has been gutted by fire which broke out Thursday last night.
The fire destroyed machinery and rice products.
The fire however affected one large shop but got immediate response by the Ebonyi State fire service before it could cause further havoc.
The exact cause of the fire outbreak as at the time of filling this report has not been ascertained, some residents of the area however opined that the fire incident may have been caused by power surge,-+described the damage caused to be unfortunate incident as devastating.
Chairman of the Abakaliki Rice Mill Ltd, Joseph Ununu confirmed the incident and said that the fire started at about 9:pm on Thursday night and attracted the attention of the leadership of the mill who were still in the office when the inferno started.
“They immediately contacted Ebonyi State fire service who rushed to the place and was able to put off the fire”, he said.
He noted that some of the valuables that were salvaged was as a result of his quick intervention and prompt response of the fire fighters.
The Chairman who described the fire incident as mysterious said that the fire started from the rear of the building and took over the whole structure before it was noticed by the Security men on duty who then quickly alerted the authorities.
“When I visited the scene, I saw about 5-black stone Rice Milling machines, bags of par boiled rice and the whole roof and interior of the building completely raised”.
The owner of the shop located at 13 A Line, Mr Moses Oboh lamented the ordeal and called on the government to come to his aid.
He said he may not stand the shock and the trauma of losing up to 50 million naira at a blow.
