Not fewer than 26 families have been rendered homeless as a mysterious inferno yesterday razed down a building along Jarret Street in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

News Express learnt that the fire outbreak began around 2pm, shortly after there was a restoration of power by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).

When our correspondent visited the scene of the tragic event, the whole building had been reduced to rubbles and the fire was still raging. Some sympathisers were also seen around the building gathering the debris from the burnt building.

The owner of the building, Mr. Chinedu Adigwe, who narrated his ordeal to News Express, said that he was away when he received a telephone call that his house was on fire, adding that everything had been burnt as at the time he arrived home.

Adigwe said: “I was at the airport when they called me that my house was on fire. When I came to this place I saw that everything was gone.

“I cannot even tell you what caused the fire but my people said that NEPA brought light around 2 O’clock and took it after about 20 minutes and, before they knew it the light sparked in one of the rooms and as you can see, the only thing left now is this,” pointing to the naked building left after the inferno.

He lamented that “there were 26 rooms in the house and nobody picked even a dime from the house,” noting that all efforts made by the Fire Service Department to extinguish the fire proved abortive.

One of the tenants, Vivian Nwebili, while bemoaning her loss, called on the government to come to their rescue as they do not even have where to lay their heads. She said: “Somebody like me, I don’t have a father or mother. I’m the only one taking care of myself and my younger ones. I’m begging the government to please come and help us.”

•Photo by Osteen Oyibode shows what was left of one of the houses after yesterday’s Asaba inferno.

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