Not less than 20 shops were gutted by fire as a cooking gas cylinder used by an operator of a local canteen exploded on Wednesday morning at the popular Nupe line in Igbudu Market, Warri, Delta State, causing damages to some shop owners in the market.
Structural and material damages recorded by the shop owners were estimated at millions of naira.
Eyewitnesses’ account revealed that the explosion occurred at a location very close to a warehouse storing insecticides and other flammable materials.
Consequently, several stores in the vicinity were gutted by the inferno, leading to considerable infrastructural damage and loss of goods.
Despite the swift response by traders from the market community to put out the fire, the delay in the arrival of firefighters from the Fire Brigade exacerbated the extent of the damage.
Significant damage had already been done to the surrounding shops and goods before the arrival of fire fighting trucks of the Nigerian Navy who eventually helped in putting out the fire.
However, no human casualties or injuries were recorded, even as local vigilantes from Igbudu/Hausa Quarters, along with the area boys, took measures to keep people away from the scene of the inferno.
When our correspondent visited the scene of the explosion later in the day, affected shop owners were seen scavenging the remnants of the ruins from their razed stores.