TheCable

The federal government says it will begin an immediate assessment of the damage caused by a fire outbreak that affected the bridge in Apongbon, Lagos.

TheCable had reported the fire that broke out on Wednesday morning at Apongbon market on Lagos Island.

Firefighters are still battling to stop the inferno whose cause is yet to be established.

Sympathisers also joined in efforts to put out the inferno, using buckets of water and sand to tackle the fire spreading between shops.

According to NAN, Kayode Popoola, the federal controller of works in Lagos, said officials of the federal ministry of works were already at the scene of the incident.

Popoola said the bridge would be shut for immediate integrity tests after a joint inspection, which will be conducted by a team of engineers from the federal ministry of works and a team from Lagos.

“Our engineers are already there working. We will shut the bridge for integrity tests,” he said.

Ibrahim Farinloye, south-west zonal coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said it was difficult for the firefighters to access the actual location of the fire under the bridge.

Farinloye, however, said no casualty had been reported and assured residents that adequate security measures are being taken to prevent hoodlums from exploiting the situation.

“As of now, we have taken control of the whole situation. The boys (area boys) have been managed, and I just asked for more deployment of police officers,” he said.

The zonal coordinator also raised fears about the safety of the bridge, hence the closure for integrity tests.

He said there was no fire on top of the bridge, but noted that interventions are ongoing to prevent the fire from spreading.

A trader, who identified himself as Chukwuma, told journalists that the fire might have been caused by petrol stored under the bridge.

He said two weeks earlier, some traders complained to the market leadership of the dangers of flammable materials, and that they ensured that petrol stored in the area was removed.