A two-month-old baby, a pregnant woman, and two others have reportedly died in a fire accident at Bonny/Nembe/Bille Jetty in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Monday morning.
POLITICS NIGERIA learned that about 60 boats were destroyed in the fire.
The fire started at about 2 am. Victims were burnt beyond recognition.
Although the cause of the fire incident, which is the second in less than four month was not known, some residents of the area said it might not be unconnected with a storage of illegally refined petroleum products at the jetty, popularly known as kpofire in the parlance.
The last fire outbreak at the jetty was in November 2021. Several persons were burnt and properties estimated at several millions of naira, destroyed.
The jetty is usually a busy transit point for thousands of residents traveling from Port Harcourt by sea to Bonny, Bille, Nembe, and other riverine communities.
The effects of these disasters are usually massive due to slow response to emergencies by the authorities or difficulties accessing the scene due to the terrain.
