The Federal Fire Service (FFS) has said that a mob stopped its men from getting to the scene of Wednesday’s fire incident at Ochanja Market, Onitsha, in Anambra.
Spokesperson of the agency, Ugo Huan, said this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
“The Federal Fire Service received a call about the fire outbreak around 2.00 p. m.
“The control room at the headquarters in Abuja immediately turned out its nearest station at Asaba, Delta State, to attend to the fire.
“Our men immediately headed to the scene but it was not possible to contend with the heavy traffic at the Niger bridge head, coupled with the behaviour of an angry mob who pelted stones at them.
“Thus, it was not possible for the firefighters to get to the scene and fight the fire in such a hostile environment”, Huan said.
Reports say that no fewer than five persons, including a woman and her child, died in the inferno caused by the explosion of a petrol tanker.
Many buildings and shops were also torched in the disaster, according to reports.
The spokesman said the FFS Controller General, Mr Liman Ibrahim, was deeply saddened by the incident, and had expressed his heart-felt condolences to the victims and their families.
