UPDATE: Firefighters, army douse massive fire in Jigjiga market

By: HOL

Firefighters and army personnel have extinguished a fire that ripped through an open-air market in Jigjiga, the capital of the Somali regional state in Ethiopia, on Friday night.

A rescue group led by the mayor of Hargeisa, the capital city of Somaliland, arrived at the scene from neighbouring Hargeisa. Additional firefighting assistance was dispatched from Hargeisa, Dirdhabe, and Harar.

The cause of the fire, which engulfed a major shopping district known as the New Taiwan Market, has yet to be determined. Aerial photographs reveal the severity of the blaze. The police have initiated an investigation into the cause of the fire.

A delegation led by regional president Mustafa Omer, accompanied by federal and regional officials, arrived at the site to assess the extent of the damages.

No reports of fatalities or serious injuries resulted from the fire.

According to HOL reporter in the Somali region of Ethiopia, the Taiwan market suffered complete destruction.

The reporter remarked, “I can compare this disaster to what happened at the Waaheen market in Hargeysa, Somaliland, in April last year,” he added.

In March of the previous year, a fire engulfed one of Jigjiga’s largest markets, destroying shops that sold second-hand clothes and the vegetable market. Traders suspected that the fire from the previous year was caused by a malfunctioning tank belonging to the market’s electricity companies, although the official cause has not been confirmed