Fire destroys Marian Market in New Year tragedy

January 1, 2018 12:16 PM

Goods and properties worth millions were lost to the tragedy.

Traders in the capital city of Cross River State welcomed the new year with a tragic fire that destroyed many shops at the popular Marian Market in Calabar.

Recommended articles

According to a report by Channels Television, the fire started around the early hours of January 1, 2018 while Nigerians were celebrating the dawn of a new year.

Even though there's no official cause given for the fire yet, eyewitnesses blamed it on high voltage.

They also claim that the state's fire service was alerted to the fire but couldn't properly attend to it because they complained about lacking the tools to help extinguish the fire.

Goods and properties worth millions were lost to the tragedy as many failed to salvage anything from the wreckage while other traders scrambled to salvage as much as they could.

Watt Market fire

Earlier in November 2017, Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) confirmed the destruction of over 50 shops after a fire incident at the Yoruba section of Watt Market in Calabar.

The fire affected mostly electrical, provision, jewellery and book shops in the market with no casualty recorded.