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Gambia News : Inferno at Latri Kunda Market

Yet another fire incident, believed to have been caused by a candle, completely razed at least two tailoring workshops in the Latri Kunda Sabiji market over the weekend.

Speaking to this reporter at the scene one Bada Secka, a Senegalese national, a victim, said that the fire started in the early hours of Saturday around 4:30am when his apprentice called to inform him that their workshop was on fire.

According to him the fire emanated from an adjoining tailoring shop belonging to one Modi Yaya, where an apprentice went to sleep living a lighted candle. Having burnt itself out, the flame from the candle caught on to the cloths, setting alight other objects in the congested shop.

According to our sources, about 10 sewing machines and heaps of cloth believed to be part of the lot brought by clients preparing for the approaching Tobaski were engulfed by the fire.

The sources further revealed that an estimated 1.5 million dalasis worth of equipment and cloths were destroyed while the man in the shop where the fire originally emanated sustained serious injuries. He was rushed to the Faji Kunda Health centre.

As women in the country compete to put on well-tailored and expensive cloths for the Tobaski, the fate of the clients of Bada Secka and Modi Yaya remains uncertain.