Four feared dead, scores injured as fire guts Mile 12 market

No fewer than four people were feared killed, yesterday, in an early morning fire incident that gutted Mile 12 Market, in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State.

Not a few people also sustained various degrees of injuries in the fire incident which consumed about 168 shops in the market.

Eye witnesses said the popular foodstuffs and fruits market went up in flames around 4am causing panic among the traders and commuters in the area.

When The Nation visited the scene of the inferno, traders whose shops had been burnt to ashes were seen mourning their losses, while thick smoke billowed from the debris.

The affected traders claimed that they have lost about a billion naira all together adding that “the incident was unfortunate.”

One of the traders, Paul Simeon, lamented the loss of his N400, 000 worth of goods and a large sum of money which he had left behind in the shop.

He said: “My shop has been razed and all my goods have been destroyed. I have lost goods worth N400, 000 and several thousands of naira. I don’t know where to start from now and I don’t know who to approach for help.”

Some officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), whose office inside the market was razed by the inferno, were also seen counting their losses.

Three buses, two trucks and numerous official documents belonging to members of the transport union were burnt beyond recognition.

Some of the traders said the fire was triggered by a power surge following the restoration of electricity supply to the area in the wee hours of the day.

However, another source who asked not to be named linked the fire incident to the activities of illegal sale of fuel in the market.

A chieftain of NURTW in the area, Alhaji Umaru Isah, told our correspondent that four bodies have been evacuated from the scene.

It was gathered that those injured had also been rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Ikeja, for treatment.

The media consultant to the Perishable Foodstuff Association, Mr Femi Odusanya, however said only three people died in the incident.

Odusanya said: “ Three people not four died. The incident occurred at the vegetable oil line  line attached to Yam sellers’ section. I am calling on the state government to come to the aid of the traders and the victims.”