No fewer than 6,700 traders lost their goods to a fire that gutted the popular Mandilas building on Broad Street, Lagos Island Local Government Area of Lagos State on Sunday.
This is just as 450 shops, 30 offices, two hotels, and five restaurants were destroyed by the impact of the fire which affected the 14-storey building.
The Lagos State Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, Ibrahim Farinloye, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
It was earlier reported that the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service disclosed that careless welding during the installation of a power generator on the second floor of the Mandilas building in Lagos led to the fire incident.
The fire reportedly started from the first floor of the building and spread to the seventh floor.
Farinloye stated that, “The impacted traders are estimated to accommodate about 6,700 traders, 450 shops, 30 offices, two hotels, and five restaurants, according to the Iya Oja of the Atunwase International Market Mandilas General, Alhaja Adeniji Rashidat, who briefed the assessors.
“The fire which started at about 0011 hours began at the first floor where an alleged wielding activity was going on.
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“It was alleged that the people around did not notice the fire until it was too late before the fire service was contacted. The fire, also, spread to surrounding market stalls at the Atunwase International Market with equal extensive damage as the main complex.”
Meanwhile, our correspondent who monitored activities at the scene of the fire observed some of the traders lamenting the huge losses they incurred from the fire incident.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
