Properties worth millions of Naira have been razed by a raging inferno in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, with residents scampering for safety and attempting to salvage what was left of their belongings.
Eyewitnesses say the fire outbreak occurred at about 11pm on Tuesday, August 22, 2023 at a fuel dump at Rex Lawson Street in the Borikiri axis of Port Harcourt.
The dumpsite, which was an abode for illegal bunkering activities, met a tragedy as the fire occurred leaving one person dead, another injured and properties and goods burnt down.
A resident of the area, Harrison Harrison disclosed to Kristina Reports that upon his arrival, he learnt that the explosion was as a result of ongoing illegal bunkering activities, popularly known as kpo fire and a neighbour cooking at the same time.
He also revealed that the settlement was small and the houses were very close to each other, hence a section of someone’s supposed residential building was converted to a storehouse
“Both the owner of the house and the kpo fire people were working, the owner of the house was cooking and the kpo fire vendors were also filling and refilling their products.”
Harrison revealed that the incident happened when the owner of the house was about to put out the fire, revealing that the flames caught up with the people at the dumpsite who were working.
“In the process, the flame caught up with the two guys; they yelled for help, neighbours came to their rescue but in the process, one of them died, and the other injured.”
Harrison also told newsmen that the good thing was that the dumpsite was close to the river bank and it aided in the mitigation of the explosion
“So men, boys, women and girls resorted to use water from the river, adding detergent and liquid soup to it. The fire left houses and properties burnt, but would have been even more severe if the neighbours hadn’t intervened.”
Efforts by Kristina Reports to reach authorities of the community as well as the owner of the dumpsite for relevant information proved abortive.
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