Fire guts Ugandan market, causalities feared: Police

By Godfrey Olukya

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) - Police in Uganda said Monday that they fear there could be causalities after a huge fire burnt down a market on the outskirts of the capital Kampala in Kisenyi parish.

A fire brigade officer, Simon Okello, said in an interview with Anadolu that they fear that some people were burnt in the buildings and are waiting for the fire to be completely put out before they check for bodies.

He said the fire was so huge that it took them several hours to bring it under control.

Most of the buildings in the market were semi-permanent built with timber and iron sheets.

The structures that were destroyed included shops, maize mills, poultry feed stores and maize stores, which were burnt to the ground.

‘‘The fire has burnt a lot of property. Police, the national building review board and UMEME electricity company are working together to check for casualties and also establish the cause of the fire," Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman Lucas Owoyesigire told Anadolu.

An eyewitness who is a resident of the area, Nelson Mutebi, said they suspect that some lives may have been lost since some of the stores that were burnt had attendants who slept there.

He said that by the time the fire brigade arrived, it only managed to prevent further damage because most items had been burnt to ash.