One dead as fire guts Balogun market
Scene of the inferno. Traders at Balogun market, Lagos, yesterday, counted their losses as fire broke out on 32, Balogun Street and 34, Gbajumo Street of the market, killing one and destroying three buildings. Vanguard gathered that the fire, which started around 9 a.m., from 34, Gbajumo Street, spread to 32, Balogun Street, where shoes are sold. The fire affected three buildings and over 900 shops. Traders were seen running helter-skelter to salvage some of their goods and this led to commotion everywhere. Some of the victims claimed that the fire was mysterious as they could not explain the cause. One of the victims, who gave her name simply as Mrs. Ngozi, said: “I’m finished. I don’t even know where to start from. I didn’t remove anything from my shop. Please, government should come to my rescue. “My shop is on the third floor and we didn’t even know what was going on until some people alerted us. Now everything is gone.” Another affected shop owner, Mr. Oliver Ezedimbu, who claimed...