Property destroyed as huge fire engulfs Gikomba market, Nairobi

Photo:Courtesy

A huge fire razed down a section of Gikomba market in Nairobi on Sunday morning destroying property worth millions.

Efforts to contain the inferno are ongoing. No casualties have been reported so far.

Police say they are yet to know its cause and that there are fire engines at the scene battling the fire. 

Traders said the fire is suspected to have started from one of the stores before spreading to others. 

The incident has displaced many traders who rely on the market as Gikomba is the biggest open air market in the region and many people visit it daily to buy things like food stuff and clothes. 

 A large crowd was gathered at the scene as police officers were deployed to keep at bay looters, who wanted to take advantage of the situation.

On June 23, 2015 an estimated 10,000 traders in Gikomba Market lost goods worth millions of shillings after an early morning fire burnt hundreds of business premises, including a local Family Bank branch.

Some of the traders managed to save part of their stock, but a huge part of the goods kept in stores at night were consumed by the inferno.