A front line transporter, and owner of the GUO motors
limited, Chief Godwin Okeke popularly known as GUO yesterday expressed worry on
the attitude of touts during disaster in Onitsha which prevented better rescue
mission during the Ochanja market fire.
Chief Okeke who
lamented that his brand new Mercedes 711 fire truck was destroyed by hoodlums
and his rescue team beaten up as they rushed to assist stop the raging inferno,
urged residents in Onitsha to always support any rescue efforts by any group
during emergency periods.
Chief Okeke who’s Sectional Manager, Mr. Vincent Agbo led the rescue mission
sympathized with the victims of Wednesday's and Friday morning Onitsha fire
disasters, while blaming the extent of damages on hoodlums who prevented help
during the inferno.
Narrating how the GUO fire truck was destroyed, the
sectional manager. Mr Agbo, said that the GUO Boss, Chief Okeke, on hearing
about the ugly news of the fire incident at Onitsha, quickly directed his
company to send their fire truck to the area and was later shocked when he
received the sad news that the fire truck was destroyed and his staff who went
for the rescue mission mobbed, and inflicted with different degrees of
injuries.
Agbo said: ‘’ it was not up to 30 minutes the fire started,
that, our Boss GUO himself, asked us to take the company’s 5,000 liters of
water fire truck to go and help stop the fire but we were attacked , the fire
truck destroyed and vandalized. We thank God, we were not killed.
The hoodlums damaged the pumping machine and if they had
allowed us entry, the inferno would have been contained. These people who
attacked us were not genuine traders, if they were, they would not attack us’’.
He thanked God that none of his staff lost their lives to
the incident, but, revealed that seven members of staff of the GUO company are
currently receiving medical attention in hospital as they sustained varying
degrees of injury.
He said he returned
from the hospital before encountering newsmen on inspection of the damaged
truck.
He wondered why mischief makers would high jack such a
deadly situation to perpetrate evil in expense of their fellow brothers who
were losing billions of naira and urged market leadership in the state to
ensure they procure fire trucks with tight security round their markets in
order not to allow hoodlums take
advantage of such situations capable of depriving them of external help
from fellow businessmen during disasters, as any help no matter how little is
very important in savaging the situation.
He called on well-meaning individuals to lend helping hands
to the victims of the fire as the property lost to the inferno was too large
for the state to bear alone as according to him most of the traders are more
like walking dead as most lost entire life investments in the fire disaster.
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