Ikom, Cross River – A fire outbreak has ravaged several shops at Ikom Market, Mile 2, opposite Ucherori Street, in Ikom Local Government Area of Cross River State, leaving traders and residents in disarray.
The fire, which began in the early hours of Sunday, January 13, destroyed goods worth millions of Naira.
Witnesses reported seeing thick plumes of smoke as the fire spread rapidly across stalls.
Efforts to extinguish the fire were hampered as firefighters had not yet arrived at the scene, leaving market vendors and locals to tackle the flames with limited resources.
While no casualties were reported, the cause of the inferno remains unknown at the time of this report.
The incident has heightened concerns over fire safety in public markets within the region.
Last year, similar incident happened in the same market, destroys hundreds of shops and goods.
Converseer reports that this is the third reported cases of fire outbreak in the state this January, with no fire service available to quench the fire.