Just In: Fire Guts Imo State Airport

Section of the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport (SMICA), Owerri, Imo State was on Monday gutted by inferno following a sudden outbreak of fire that allegedly erupted in place while a repair work was in progress.

The fire incident which claimed properties worth million of naira started on Monday afternoon and disrupted flights for over three hours, in and out of the state.

Hundreds of passengers billed to travel out of Owerri were stranded and some of them were forced to return home or change to nearby routes like Port Harcourt and Enugu airports.

The inferno, CityMirrorNews reliably gathered, affected the Departure and Arrival lounges and the Terminal building destroying countless office equipment and documents.

However, a source at the airport that confirmed the incident said that the fire has been stopped and they were expecting flight to land and Air Peace airline arrived later.

He hinted, “It is only administrative block that was affected .both commissioner of police and air force commandant are on ground. FAAN fire fighter was able to stop the fire.”

The source further disclosed that the fire began when a repair work was going on somewhere near the at the Airport Manager’s office and affected the accounts section.