The popular Mile 1 market located in Diobu, Port Harcourt in Rivers State was gutted by fire in the early hours of Tuesday December 17th 2013.
The Chairman of the Mile 1 Market Traders Association, Kenneth Eze, said that the traders lost goods worth millions of Naira to the fire.
Witnesses told the News Agency of Nigeria that the fire started at about 2.00 a.m. and razed the entire make-shift market.
The fire also affected a two-storey residential building housing.
One of the traders, Chimdi Eze, said he lost jewelries worth more than N2 million to the fire who just received stock worth N600,000 for the Christmas sales.
Double tragedy hit Ebere Okoye, a trader and resident of the burnt residential building, who could not control his tears, said her entire life savings and property had been consumed by the inferno.
The state fire service and that of the Nigerian Ports Authority put out the fire and prevented it from spreading to adjoining streets and offices.
See photos from the scene below;
