A blazing fire has razed down a multi-million-naira Soprom Hotel located at the federal housing Estate 3-3, Onitsha, Anambra state, Southeast Nigeria, on Monday morning.
Helpless workers and sympathizers laboured to contain the fire at its inchoate stage but lost out as breeze hurried it up until it gained greater force and spread across the entire edifice, destroying substantial part.
Nobody was reported dead or injured in the incident which started around 4:30 am, according to sources.
The Daily Crucible gathered that the cause of the fire which burnt the two-storey building was yet to be made known. Efforts were also ongoing as of 11.00 am to salvage what remains of the property.
The fire service from Asaba, Delta State and Anambra were later rushed to the scene and they did put the fire out after much damage had been done to the facility.
It was learnt that the Monday’s Sit – at – Home order long foisted on Anambra State and other Southeast States by the proscribed Indegenous People of Biafra (IPOB) delayed the emergency responders from attending to the situation quickly.
“Fire fighting truck from neighbouring State of Delta couldn’t get to the scene early from Asaba because the operators were probably concerned about their safety due to the Monday’s sit-at-home. The delay is the reason a substantial part of the building was badly gutted by the fire,” a source said.
However, the state police public relations officer, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, has described the fire incident as unfortunate.
Ikenga in a statement said, “The situation is under control. The fire started around 4:30 am on Monday and when we got the information, our men were quickly mobilised to the scene and they condoned off the area to avoid any case of vandalism.
“No loss of life and the men of the fire service are on the ground controlling the situation and managing the fire.”
