Shots of the blazing Sun- Flag textile plant
in Njiro as taken deep in the night of Thursday, February 2 in Arusha
Region. (Photo by Marc Nkwame)
A TEXTILE manufacturing plant owned by Sun-Flag Tanzania Limited which is based in Njiro, erupted in flames at night last Thursday.
The fire lasted several hours up to
Friday morning. Sun-Flag, which has more than 3,000 workers at its Njiro
plant, is one of two major employers in Arusha Region. The other one is
A-to-Z also a textile entity operating in Kisongo area.
The Arusha Regional Police Commander
(RPC), Mr Charles Mkumbo, has confirmed the incident saying there were
no casualties from the fire, but regarding the loss caused from the
incident, “it remains for the factory management to take stock of that,”
he said.Njiro is a bustling industrial zone, where a number of
factories based there usually operate day and night. Efforts to contact
the Sun- Flag management proved futile.
“The manager is not in and is the only
person who is allowed to issue a statement,” said an official who was
found at the factory offices on Friday morning. He tried to call the
‘manager,’ but wouldn’t pick up the phone.
The Sun-Flag fire, which razed the
property’s storage warehouses, precisely the siding which is used to
store chemicals, at the Sun-Flag plant, caused trepidation across the
area as many feared that the flames may spread to other factories
nearby. Hundreds of Arusha residents thronged the factory enclosure as
the hot flames raged on, many claiming that their relatives were locked
inside the fence and were not allowed to come out despite the
threatening fire.
There was an oil well within the premises, which could further cause disaster.
Mama Mwanahamisi Rashid, is one of the
residents who gathered at the factory, crying and saying her daughter in
law was trapped inside the flaming factory and her phone was not
accessible.
Mr Obadiah Chacha, one of the people who
went around to the burning plant intending to help rescue workers
trapped inside, said they were disappointed by the factory management;
“they refused to open gates for workers to come out,” he said.
As far as he was concerned, the Asians who own the factory probably feared that people will go inside to steal.
That is why they rather let their gates
remain locked. The Arusha Fire Brigade on the other hand, took its time;
arriving at the scene an hour after the fire. It took mostly efforts
from ordinary residents to put out the flames after they were finally
allowed to do so when the police arrived
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