A midnight inferno razed auto spare parts market in Agodi Gate, Ibadan, InsideOyo.com gathered.
Mostly affected is the tyre and car engine section of the market.
The fire which is still been battled by a combined team of firefighters and some traders has led to a loss of goods valued at hundreds of millions.
The fire was said to ave started around 11PM around the tyre section and spread to other parts of the nearby shops where trailer engines were sold.
Sources said the fire was caused by power surge which was escalated by nylon used to wrap tyres.
The quick intervention of fire fighters to gain access into the market were hampered by vehicles parked indiscriminately by the road side.
The situation also led to difficulty in salvaging goods and wares worth millions from nearby shops due to fire fighters’ lack of access.
The fire trucks parked a distance of about half kilometres as two teams from the Oyo state fire service battle inferno worsened by inflamable items.
The market just had electricity supply restored recently after years of being without light.
There is a fire out break going on at gate market Ibadan right now properties have been burned
#ibadanfire
@connectibadan2 @connectIBADAN @ibcityannouncer @_AsiwajuLerry @SamuelGalax @_deyola t pic.twitter.com/egOkJp4mYD
— GoldMyneTV (@GoldmyneTV) April 3, 2021
A trader who identifies himself as Samson who deals in Toyota spares, in the market said such tragedy was last witnessed in the market in 1983 and even not on such large scale level of destruction.
A tyre seller who also gave his identity as Alfa Demola in tears said the incident is a like a disaster that has befallen the traders especially the tyre sellers in the market.
He added that only God can ever restore their losses.
Another eye witness account said he was called around 11PM Friday night and that he got to the market around 2AM to see the situation.
He said some of the affected shops had large sums of money to the tune of N10million.
The source identified as Mutiu Lawal said “The fire started around 11PM. I got there around 2AM.
“We heard that it’s like there was a power surge from electric cables and it fell on some materials like nylons, rubber and tyres that aided the fire. It has spread up to close to the nearby mosque but they are still battling it.
“Many shop with goods and money got burnt completely. The tyre section was burn completely downwards, the axis where they sell iron and metals objects and some engine parts also razed.
“The fire fighter actually tried and they responded on time but the problem they faced first was that many people there had different vehicles parked recklessly and that’s how they leave it overnight maybe as their own security measure against, but it affected the fire trucks from moving close to the scene of the fire easily.”
