The inferno that gutted the popular Ochanja Market in Onitsha, Anambra State on Monday, took the life of a Fire Service staff while combating the fire.
This development was confirmed by the Acting Director of the service, Mr Innocent Mbonu, he however, refused to give the name of the deceased.
Mbonu explained that a storey building in the market collapsed on two of his staff in an attempt to stop the fire, adding that one died instantly while the other was receiving treatment at a hospital.
“Five other persons sustained various degrees of injury while 15 shops, mostly shoe shops, were razed during the inferno,” he said.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr Ali Okechukwu, said that the cause of the fire could not be ascertained.
“The governor was there. When government comes out with its report on the cause of the fire, we shall all know but the place is calm now,” Okechukwu said.
-Emmanuel Ikechukwu
