The federal government says it will begin an immediate
assessment of the damage caused by a fire outbreak which affected the bridge in
Apongbon, Lagos.
Fire that broke out on Wednesday
morning at Apongbon market on Lagos Island.
Firefighters are still battling to stop the inferno whose
cause is yet to be established.
Sympathisers also joined in efforts to put out the inferno,
using buckets of water and sand to tackle the fire spreading between shops.
According to NAN, Kayode Popoola, the federal controller of
works in Lagos, said officials of the federal ministry of works were already at
the scene of the incident.
Popoola said the bridge would be shut for immediate
integrity tests after a joint inspection, which will be conducted by a team of
engineers from the federal ministry of works and a team from Lagos.
“Our engineers are already there working. We will shut the
bridge for integrity tests,” he said.
Ibrahim Farinloye, south-west zonal coordinator of the
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said it was difficult for the
firefighters to access the actual location of the fire under the bridge.
Farinloye, however, said no casualty had been reported and
assured residents that adequate security measures are being taken to prevent
hoodlums from exploiting the situation.
“As of now, we have taken control of the whole situation.
The boys (area boys) have been managed, and I just asked for more deployment of
police officers,” he said.
The zonal coordinator also raised fears about the safety of
the bridge, hence the closure for integrity tests.
He said there was no fire on top of the bridge, but noted
that interventions are ongoing to prevent the fire from spreading.
A trader, who identified himself as Chukwuma, told
journalists that the fire might have been caused by petrol stored under the
bridge.
He said two weeks earlier, some traders complained to the
market leadership of the dangers of flammable materials, and that they ensured
that petrol stored in the area was removed.
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