Maroua: SODECOTON loses about 1,500 tonnes of cotton to inferno.

The inferno, The Guardian Post gathered, occurred in the afternoon of Tuesday April 9.

Sources familiar with the incident, narrated that the fire broke out in one of the company’s warehouses before spreading to other parts of the plant.   

The flames were reportedly brought under control after the company’s internal fire-fighting system was activated, this with the support of the town’s firefighting brigade under the coordination of Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Djorwe. 

Despite the intervention, significant property damage is said to have been registered. Though the origin of the inferno is yet to be ascertained, sources said the initial damages occurred in three of the plant’s 10 seed cotton silos with approximately 1,500 tonnes of cotton affected. 

The Governor of the Far North Region, Midjiyawa Bakari, and his close collaborators are said to have rushed to the site to galvanise the rescue operation. 

Speaking to the press, Governor Midjiyawa said “with the efforts that were made by the firefighters, some materials were saved”. 

The Governor also called for the vigilance of all against the reoccurrence 

of such inferno within the corporation and beyond. 

The civil administrator equally announced that comprehensive assessments are currently being carried out by the company’s staff to determine the exact cause of the fire as well as the total damages suffered.

According to a recent report of the Technical Commission for the Rehabilitation of Public and Parapublic Sector Enterprises, CTR, the cotton corporation produced 329,021 tonnes of seed cotton by the end of the 2021-2022 cotton campaign.