A trader picks up what remained of her tomato stock after a fire burnt
down a market in Zambia's second largest city Ndola on August 29, 2017.
PHOTO | MICHAEL CHAWE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Hundreds of traders are counting losses after a market was razed to the ground in Ndola, Zambia's second largest city.
The tragedy on Tuesday started just after midnight when traders closed their operations.
Merchandise
worth millions of kwacha (Zambian currency) was burnt to ashes at
Kapalala Market in ...
Ndola after a fire swept through the market, destroying over 3,000 stands," reported state radio.
Ndola after a fire swept through the market, destroying over 3,000 stands," reported state radio.
"....marketers were found wailing and watching helplessly as their goods went up in flames," it said.
The inferno
Fire fighters had a rough time fighting the inferno, due to restricted accessibility.
Police have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire.
Local media quoted one of the trader, Ms Cecilia Chitafu, who recounted that all her merchandise had been burnt to ashes.
About 6,000 people are estimated to be doing business at the market at its peak.
Supply lines
Ndola is located in the Copperbelt Province, north of the capital Lusaka.
In
July, the country's largest market, Soweto, was partially gutted, an
incident that prompted President Edgar Lungu to invoke the emergency
powers to deal with "acts of sabotage".
The
relatively calm southern African state experienced "rising cases of
politically motivated fires and vandalism of vital electricity supply
lines", which government alleged was being perpetrated by the
opposition.
No comments :
Post a Comment