The cause of the fire is yet to be established as investigation opens

The Bamkika-ai market at the outskirts of Kumbo in Bui Division was on the night of Friday, April 7 razed to ashes by a fire outbreak. Although investigations have been opened to determine the cause of the fire, many believe that it might have emanated from a charcoal iron in a tailoring workshop. According to the night watchman, Aminou Fondze, the fire started at about 10 pm at the central part which has no electricity and rapidly spread to the rest of the market constructed with wood. He said with the help of well wishes, all attempts to put out the raging fire with fire extinguisher failed.

Although the extent of the damage caused is yet to be determined, many a victim said they lost millions of CFA Frs in the incident.“I received a phone call at about 10 pm. When I arrived at the market, my display shop and the parking stores were already consumed by the raging fire. All of my items were burnt, I lost over FCFA 25 million, declared Wirsiy Ernest Yuven, dealer in building materials. For Ngoran Lawrence, owner of a provision store, his neighbours rescued some of his articles some of which were rather stolen by persons who pretended to be sympathizers. “I could not muster the courage of getting close to my bar. I sat across the road and wept although some good Samaritans had forced open my business place and rescued a few crates of beer. Other items and installations like the TV set and benches, crates and bottle were all consumed”, Yufenyuy Relindis Sevidzem, owner of a popular drinking spot lamented.