The Director of the Anambra Fire Services, Martin Agbili, has said that 80 shops were affected in the chemical market fire explosion in Onitsha Head Bridge.

This is contained in a statement signed by Agbili on Wednesday in Onitsha.

He said that incident took place at the Science and Lab Line of Ogbo Ogwu Market not the entire Ogbo Ogwu Market, Onitsha.

”It is really a terrible situation but the fire is under control now. The vibration from the explosions caused the collapse of some market buildings.

“A lot of safety measures have been taken to protect the entire market. There are casualties but we can’t ascertain the actual number of death and the injured”, he said.

The fire also destroyed goods and properties worth millions of naira.

The fire started around 12.10pm on Tuesday when chemicals stored in one of the shops along the Progressive Science Union Line exploded.

It was gathered that the incident led to a stampede in the heavily populated market, which resulted in the deaths and injuries.