Fire Razes Onitsha Main Market

A fire has devastated sections of the Onitsha Main Market in Anambra State, Nigeria.

The blaze reportedly ignited in one of the market’s buildings around 6:20 AM on Friday and quickly spread to an adjacent structure.

Naija News understands that the cause of the fire remains unknown as of the time of filing this report.

In the meantime, local residents, bystanders, and firefighters have been seen working to rescue belongings and merchandise from the affected area.

The Head of the Media and Publicity Unit for the Anambra State Fire Service, Chukwudi Chiketa, confirmed the incident in a brief statement released on Friday (today).

Chiketa has urged the community and the public to stay calm while firefighters work to extinguish the flames.

“Anambra State Fire Service is currently on intervention at the scene of the fire outbreak at Ifejika Street, by Sokoto Road, Onitsha.

“The distress call came at 0620am today, and our firefighters deployed immediately,” he further urged the general public to remain calm as the situation is under control.

Barely three days ago, a two-story commercial structure located on Iweka Road, close to Ochanja Main Market in the Onitsha South Local Government Area of Anambra State, was engulfed in flames.

The Fire Chief of the Anambra Fire Service, Chukwudi Chiketa, verified the occurrence in a statement made available to the media on Wednesday, March 26.

He stated that the fire service received an emergency call around 9:35 p.m. on Tuesday and promptly dispatched firefighters to address the situation.

“We don’t know the exact cause of the fire, but we were called to respond, and we did,” Chiketa said.

“The incident affected four shops in the two-storey building, but many others were saved. These shops contained furniture materials such as leather, foam, and other items.”

Chiketa noted that the firefighting team labored diligently and left the site around 3:05 a.m.

Reports had it that residents and supporters made attempts to recover the remnants of merchandise from the damaged stores.