Several persons, including a pregnant woman and a toddler, have been reportedly burnt to death in an early morning fire at the popular Bonny-Bille-Nembe jetty in the Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
About 40 boats constructed with fibre and wood were said to be destroyed in the inferno which started at about 2 am on Monday, while some persons were reportedly loading illegally refined petroleum products.
The last fire outbreak at the jetty was in November during which 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 which is densely populated. The makeshift shops at the jetty further aggravate the inferno, as petroleum products to power the outboard engines are stored there.
