Inflamed: The devastating fire at the “Camp des Polices Militaires” market in Mont-Ngafula
On the night of Monday August 21 to Tuesday August 22, 2023, a tragic fire broke out at the “Camp des Polices Militaires” market in the town of Mont-Ngafula. More than forty commercial houses were reduced to ashes, accompanied by an estimated loss of three hundred tables. The damage caused by the flames is still visible.
The exact origin of this fire remains unknown for the moment and investigations are underway to determine the circumstances of this incident. Pelé Bofina, the administrator of the Camp PM market, said at a press conference: “The houses and the tables are made of wood, when the wind blows, the fire spreads from one house to another and d “one table to another. Impossible to give the exact number of victims. We receive them continuously. Otherwise, we have already registered about forty commercial houses and nearly three hundred tables having caught fire”.
Fortunately, no loss of life was reported as the fire started after the market closed. However, traders suffered heavy losses. A victim testifies: “I lost everything I had, including a freezer, bags of semolina, cassava flour and corn, as well as items belonging to other people who were in my butcher shop “. Another shopkeeper, with tears in her eyes, expresses her pain: “I received this bad news when I had just bought some goods in Maluku. Arriving here, I realize that everything in the house has been consumed by fire. It’s what I just bought that’s left for me”.
Despite the disaster, no fire engine was able to reach the scene of the fire, thus aggravating the spread of the flames. The situation is now critical for traders who have lost their only means of subsistence.
This fire is a call for solidarity and help. It is crucial to support disaster-stricken traders and rebuild this iconic market. Local authorities and the population are invited to mobilize to provide material and financial assistance to the victims of this tragedy.
Hopefully steps will be taken to prevent such incidents in the future and to ensure the security of markets and trade infrastructure in the region. Thus, Mont-Ngafula will be able to recover from this disaster and regain its economic vitality.
Sources:
– “More than 40 commercial houses on fire in Mont-Ngafula market” – CONGOPROFOND.NET
– Interview with Pelé Bofina, administrator of the Camp PM market
– Testimonials from affected traders
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