An early morning inferno has destroyed property and goods worth millions of naira at Amarata Community in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
The fire incident, which happened around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, was said to have occurred from a spark in a vehicle parked near a filling station.
Both victims and eye witnesses told newsmen at the scene that the diesel that flowed from the vehicle burnt down part of the filling station.
They added that the diesel also spilled into some buildings and shops in the area, burning down people’s property and goods.
A victim, Ebiomo Queen, who runs a mini-supermarket in the area, said goods and money inside her shop worth about N20 million have been burnt down by the fire.
She narrated how she was shocked to see the shop she closed after business Friday night got burnt.
She said: “I cannot even value the goods that have burnt down in my shop, the source of my livelihood has been burnt down, over N20 million gone.
“I own a mini-supermarket here, the worst of it is that I’m not living nearby, I would have rush in and try to remove some goods from the shop.
“Unfortunately, it was as we locked it yesterday, that the fire gutted everything.
“This is too much for me this beginning of the year, where will I go, I want to plead with the government to come to our rescue, so that we will return to the normal life again,” she said.
Another victim, Mr Theophilus Otti, said the security personnel from the nearby Kimiowei filling station raised alarm of a fire incident, when he wake up, fire was already destroying property.
He said: “This morning, around 3a.m., we heard alarm from the security people from Kimiowei filling station that there is fire, so we came out.
“We saw the fire coming from the factory session of the filling station, as we were trying to block the fire, the vehicle that was packed by the filling station exploded, at that point, we could not control the fire again.”
Another victim, Chinyere Eze, whose house and property have been destroyed by the inferno, said that he could not remove anything, as they were trying to save lives than property.
“When the fire started this morning, around 2:30a.m., I tried to jump into the house to pick things, but I could not pick anything.
“As I’m talking to you, it is only this cloth I’m wearing that is left for me, everything has been burnt down.
“We were sleeping, as they shouted fire, when we wake up the fire was coming towards our building, all the money that I wanted to use to buy my goods has been burnt,” she said.
Other victims who lamented over the loss of property and goods, called on the government and other public spirited individuals to come to their aid in order to start life again.
Police spokesman in Bayelsa State, ASP Musa Muhammed, confirmed the fire incident.
He also said it was the electricity spark that made a vehicle to gut fire and the flame spread to the other buildings, adding there was no death and no casualties.