Police
in Basse in the Upper River Region have arrested seven people for looting
during the Basse Market inferno on Monday which officials say destroyed over
300 stalls within the market.
The
cause of the fire incident at the time of going to press is yet to be
established.
The
leader of The Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC), Mama Kandeh has extended
benevolence in the sum of D200,000 to the victims of the fire incidents.
Meanwhile,
officials of the NDMA in URR, Basse Red Cross and staff of the Basse Area
Council were conducting a rapid assessment with a view to establishing the
scale of damage caused by the inferno.
The
blaze was reported to have started around 6 p.m. Monday evening, when most of
the market vendors were about to close.
The
chairman of BSAC, Foday Danjo, described the inferno as ‘unbelievable’ and
‘shocking,’ saying that the council is planning at the moment to temporarily
relocate the market to Koba Kunda, a surburb of Basse.
Quizzed
as to the cause of the fire outbreak, the Chairman said according to some
eyewitness, the cause of the inferno was the result of electricity spark. “The
fire incident started from one stall within the market. The market vendors
tried to control it internally but it eventually spins out of control and went
on to consume over 300 stalls.”
The
council, he went on, is launching an appeal from the central government, NGOs,
philanthropist and individuals among others to come to the aid of the affected
businessmen and women.
“Some
affected individuals were entirely depending on some of these things that they
sell in the market.”
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