A fire outbreak in Ekeki Motor Park in Yenogoa Local Government of Bayelsa State on Thursday left about five persons severely burnt, 30 shops destroyed while millions of naira were lost in the inferno.
The inferno which resulted from generator explosion was said to have started at about 9am, destroying shops and offices.
It was gathered that the generator explosion occurred when a shop owner who deals on spare part was trying to pour petrol into it.
While trying to fill the generating set, fuel had contact with the exhaust and the generator exploded.
The spare parts dealer who also doubles as a daily contribution collector, on seeing that fire was getting serious called for help from drivers around.
While trying to bring the fire under control, the shop owner was able to save some money kept in his care from getting burnt; the fire however got him burnt from head to toe.
An eyewitness affirmed, “The survival of the man is in doubt. The fire burnt him seriously. When the fire started, he ran out to seek help. But when the man noticed the fire had become ferocious and because he had plenty of money which he had collected from people, he decided to brave it to save the money.
“However, he succeeded in saving some money but the fire burnt him severely. I doubt if he can survive it. He was later rushed to an unknown hospital with four other persons caught in the inferno.”
A victim of the inferno noted that the fire fighting service came to the scene two hours after the fire started and this did not go down well with some youths who out of anger turned them back as much damage had already been done.
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