Goods and other properties valued at about N70 million were destroyed in a fire incident at No. 2C, Aba road, opposite Penco Plaza in Umuahia, Abia State, on Thursday night.
Several mails containing international passports were also burnt during the inferno.
Although the cause of the fire outbreak was not established at the time of the incident, some sympathizers said preliminary investigations pointed at a spark from a faulty electrical wall socket in one of the shops upstairs.
One of the victims, Rev Temple Uzodinma, said he received a distress phone call at about 7pm on Thursday from someone telling him that the buildings were on fire.
Uzodinma, who said he immediately contacted the men of Abia State Fire Service, added that the fire had spread to other shops and other corporate offices before the arrival of the fire fighters.
He said the firefighters were able to control the inferno from gutting more shops.
He cried out that the incident was a devastating blow to the victims, while appealing to the Abia State Government and other able individuals to come to their aid.
Among the property destroyed were cash, electronic appliances, sewing machines, rolls of clothes, international mails etc.
An employee of United Parcel Service, UPS, identified as Wisdom, told news correspondents that parcels of mails containing international passports and other important documents were destroyed in his office, lamenting that the situation may affect travel plans of the owners of the burnt mails.
The Federal Fire Service and Abia State Ministry of Environment had been running campaigns warning Abia residents on dangers of fire disaster.
