Passengers flee as fire razes Imo airport

Syngossip news

There was panic on Monday as fire gutted the arrival section of the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

The cause of the inferno was not immediately known, but a source at the airport said there was an ongoing renovation of the arrival area, which was razed.

One of our correspondents gathered that the inferno, which raged for about 50 minutes, started around 2.10pm.

It took the spirited efforts from men of the fire service and airport workers to extinguish the fire.

A source said, “It was a mysterious fire outbreak. It happened at the arrival section of the airport, where the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria is carrying out renovation work.

“It would have wreaked more havoc but for the timely arrival of men of the fire service. The inferno started around 2.10pm and raged for about 50 minutes. It damaged equipment and infrastructure, but the rescue work helped in restricting the damage.”

When contacted the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, said he had yet to be briefed about the incident.

However, FAAN said it had commenced investigation into the fire incident.

The General Manager, Corporate Affairs, FAAN, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, said the inferno, which affected some parts of the terminal building, started around 2pm but was curtailed by officers of the Aerodrome Rescue and Fire Fighting Services Department of the agency.

“The authority has commenced preliminary investigation into the cause of the incident. There was no casualty and normal operations have since resumed at the airport,” she said