3 children, 2 adults die in Borno IDP camp fire accident

At least five internally displaced persons (IDP) have been reported to have died when a fire outbreak razed the stadium camp in Monguno local government area of Borno State.

According to a report by Daily Trust, a rescue worker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, disclosed that the accident happened around 11:30am on Thursday, February 7, 2019.

He disclosed that three children, below the age of six, and two female adults were casualties in the tragedy.

He said, "It is an unfortunate day for the people of Monguno today (yesterday), especially the internally displaced persons who are occupying the stadium camp as fire outbreak occurred at about 11:30am.

"The fire outbreak lasted for about 45 minutes. It killed five people, including three children between the ages of 0 - 6 years and two female adults."

Aftermath of the fire accident in an IDP camp in Monguno, Borno State [Twitter/@tvcnewsng] Pulse Nigeria

The rescue worker also disclosed that fire, which reportedly started from a local kitchen, left dozens injured and thousands homeless.

"Many were seriously affected by the flame; and dozens were injured, including children.

"As I am speaking to you, thousands of internally displaced persons are in serious need of food items and sleeping materials because all their shelters have been burnt down," he said.

Most of the IDPs have been displaced from their local communities due to Boko Haram, a terrorist group whose insurgency in the northeast region has displaced over 2 million people in 10 years. The terrorists have also killed over 27,000 people.