Akwa: Flames gut Warehouses at Douche municipale

Firefighters rushed back to Douche Municipale D’Akwa in Douala early Monday, September 18, 2023, to put out flames they did not completely extinguish Sunday evening.

At about 6:15 p.m. on Sunday, September 17, 2023, wild flames engulfed Quifferou, building housing construction materials, and also ravaged nearby warehouses owned by Chinese nationals.

The destruction was enormous with losses evaluated in hundreds of millions FCFA.

The Ngodi firefighters were assisted by the firefighting unit from the Douala International Airport, amounting to about 100 firefighters were on the ground battling to contain the flames.

It took hours for the flames to be put out, from extending to a nearby hotel and travel agency.

The content of all the warehouses was reduced to ashes.

During the operation, two trucks of anti-riot police were deployed to secure the area clustered by the population and victims.

The governor of the Littoral region, Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua was on the scene alongside some administrative and security officials to take stock of the situation.

An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of the fire.

Douche Municipale D’Akwa is an economic hub with diverse businesses run mostly by Chinese businessmen.