2 Dead, 800 Shops Destroyed In Kaduna Market Fire

Two persons were, yesterday killed, goods and property destroyed when the popular Kaduna Railway Station Fruits Market located in Kaduna South Local Government Area was gutted by fire.

The two victims were said to have been sleeping in one of the shops, while some who sustained injuries were rushed to St. Gerard Catholic Hospital, Kauri.

An eyewitness revealed that the early morning inferno was caused by an electrical surge which started around 12.45a.m. yesterday, destroying more than 800 make shift shops that made up the market.

One of the eyewitnesses, Murk tar Abdulla, who resides at the popular Railway Down Quarters, close to the Station Market, said residents started noticing smoke coming from a shop in Lane 7 of the market.

Abdulla said it took hours before the fire could be put out by the combined efforts of the Fire Service men from Nigeria Brewery Plc, Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, Dialogue Fire Service and State Fire Service.

Tears of agony from a shop owner who lost all

A trader in the market, Ifeanyi Ogochukwu said the fire incident would have been averted if government had allowed them to put in place proper structures.
Heaps of burnt food items like vegetables, fruits, meat and fish were seen littering the market, as traders tried to salvage the little they could get.

The Station Market, which is popular for selling of fruits and food items, has witnessed two fire incidents in the last three years.