By Mamer Abraham
At least two people were burned to death in a Saturday morning fire at Marol Market in Bor town, Jonglei State of South Sudan.
The state police commissioner, Elia Kosta, confirmed the incident, saying the fire started at 2:30 a.m. in Marol Market.
According to the police commissioner, an Eritrean and his 6-month-old baby dead in the fire outbreak.
He said that the wife of the deceased was also slightly burned but survived while the fire burned a total of six shops.
However, the police officer said the value of the property lost was not clear.
“Yesterday (Saturday) in the morning, at 2:30 a.m., there was a fire that caught up in the market. So, it burned two people—one man and a six-month-old baby. Then the wife was burned, but she is okay,” Maj. Gen. Elia confirmed.
“The number of shops that were burned is six, but for the total property and goods, we are still collecting information about them,” he added.
According to the police commissioner, the fire was a result of beans cooking that were locked in one of the shops for sale the following day.
He stated that some people were already arrested in connection with the fire, and the police were investigating the matter.
On Saturday, the chairman of Jonglei Civil Society Network (JCSN), Bol Deng Bol, urged the government to investigate the woman but not to keep her for long so that she could take some rest.
“Heartfelt condolences to the Eritrean businesswoman who survived a horrible fire accident and helplessly watched her family (child and husband) succumb—highly heartbreaking,” Bol said.
“This survivor is a patient and deserves medical attention, including enough rest with relatives so as to put herself together. I am appealing to the police and concerned authorities not to hold her after a brief investigation,” he continued.