Pregnant Women, Baby, Boats Burn In Port Harcourt Jetty Fire

Five people, including two pregnant women and a baby, have reportedly lost their lives in a fire outbreak at Bonny/Nembe/Bille Jetty in Port Harcourt.

Daily Sun gathered that about 60 passenger boats were destroyed in the inferno, which occurred on Monday.

Although the cause of the fire incident, which was the second in less than four-month could not be ascertained, some residents of the area said could be a result of the storage of illegally refined petroleum products.

The incident disrupted sea travel in and out of Port Harcourt, particularly traders from the coastal communities who usually arrive at the popular Creek Road market in Port Harcourt, every Monday, to sell plantain, fish, crayfish, periwinkle and other seafood.

It would be recalled that a similar incident occurred at the same Bonny/Nembe/Bille Jetty several months ago. At the end of the inferno, lives and unquantifiable property were lost.

That incident, according to sources at the jetty, was caused by a spark from an electric connection in a wooden boat popularly known as the Cameroun boat.

Eyewitnesses said it was difficult to ascertain the number of persons that lost their lives because of the location of the boat and it took a long time before the burning subsided.

Meanwhile, aggrieved hoodlums almost lynched officials of a Federal Government agency who responded to distress calls to the scene.