Three children left behind by their mother have reportedly died in a fire outbreak in the newly built Bonny-Nembe-Bille Jetty in Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital on Monday.
The fire erupted in the jetty around 10:00am during the loading and offloading of goods from some of boats as they arrived from Nembe in Bayelsa State and Bille in Rivers State.
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According to an eyewitness, an unidentified woman, who had alighted from one of the boats while backing a child, was said to have rushed to a nearby market to pick some items.
She reportedly left three of her children in one of boat, which later caught fire.
“One woman left her three children inside the boat to buy something at the market. She carried a little child on her back,” the eyewitness said.
“Before we knew it, we saw fire on the jetty. After some time, the fire got to the boats that were close by; the children and some people were in a boat when the fire started. I really felt for the woman. She was seen crying and rolling on the ground; people held her.”
Although authorities are to find out the actual cause of the fire but another eyewitness said a man suspected to be a loader (menial worker) in one of the boats was spotted smoking a cigarette, which ignited the fire.
The man, who did not identify himself, said the affected boats were laden with inflammable substances, including diesel, which aided the spread of the fire from the water to the jetty.
“One woman watched helplessly as her four children were trapped in one of the boats. Then another woman and her three children were burnt. One young man was rushed to the hospital,” he added.
The fire caused a commotion in the area, as traders and residents trooped out, while youths in the area resorted to self-help by mixing sand, water and detergent to put out the fire.
The Chairman of the Flying Boat Unit, Nembe Waterfront, Mr David Teke, said boat workers in his unit had been warned against smoking or drinking at the jetty.
He said, “My unit is different from where the fire occurred this morning. I have warned those working under me not to smoke or drink when on duty. That is the law here. As a safety precaution, we have enough fire extinguishers and buckets of sand to forestall this sort of occurrence.”
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