People stand in the ashes of makeshift shelters burnt in a fire outbreak on Tuesday. (-)

Northern Bahr el Ghazal Police Commissioner has said that a fire broke out on Tuesday burned down 24 makeshift shelters and nine houses and a vehicle in Ayuang residential area of Aweil town.

Maj. Gen. Lawyer Basilio Thomas Wani said in an interview with Eye Radio that the fire caused significant damage in the area including the destruction of a Premio car and household properties.

Gen. Basilio confirmed that the UNMISS firefighting team arrived on the scene and successfully contained the blaze.

Meanwhile, Police Spokesperson Captain Guot Akol said law enforcement agents are investigating the cause of the fire and assessing the full extent of the damage.

According to him, further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

“At around 8:10 am, a fire breaks out at an Ayuang residential area burning 24 Rakuba and 9 houses,” Akol confirmed, adding there were no human casualties.

“But there are a lot of properties and belongings that were caught by fire. The police rushed to the scene and civil defense plus UNMISS provided three vehicles and they extinguished the fire.”

“I appeal to the civil population that when you see the houses burning, please you have to give way for the vehicles to pass because I’m seeing people block the roads watching some are taking pictures and they are doing nothing.”

This is the third fire incident in the state in one month – after two separate fire outbreaks were reported from 1st to 2nd February – leaving a man dead, two hospitalized and dozens of houses razed to the ground.

NBGs Director of Civil Defense Col. William Chol said the first incident was of a house that caught fire in the middle of the night at Long-Wurkech Payam on February 1, killing a 38-year-old man and leaving two others with severe burns.

Chol reported that the second incident took place on Sunday, February 2, consuming 31 houses in Aweil Town, and killing a pet with no human casualty reported.