Fire destroys offices and documents at roads ministry

A fire at the Ministry of Roads and Bridges in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, has destroyed the offices of the minister and senior officials, as well as documents and other property, ministry officials said.

No one was injured in the incident, which happened on Wednesday morning.

Yien Bol Mayuak, the ministry’s director-general for administration and finance, told Radio Tamazuj that the fire started in the minister’s office and spread to the offices of the undersecretary and executive director.

He said the fire was caused by an electrical socket connected to an air-conditioning unit.

“The fire outbreak was in the office of the minister. It was caused by a socket of the AC. That’s where the fire started,” Bol said.

Staff and firefighters from the Civil Defence Service managed to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to other offices, he said.

Bol said the minister was on his way to the office when the fire started.

“There was no human harm. All our staff are safe,” he said.

However, he said important documents in the minister’s office had been destroyed.

“There are no documents safe because the whole office is burned down,” he said.

National Civil Defence Service Commissioner General Roden Loro said firefighters responded within minutes of receiving the call.

“Firefighters in Central Equatoria Civil Defence immediately responded to the fire outbreak with their full force and equipment,” he said.

He said the firefighters arrived at the scene within about five minutes and extinguished the blaze.

Loro said he had established a five-member committee to investigate the cause of the fire and assess the damage.

The committee is expected to submit its findings within three days, he said.

Fire at Sherikat market

Loro also said another fire broke out on Wednesday morning at Sherikat Market in Juba.

About eight shops were destroyed, with goods inside them also burned, he said.

He said the shop owners had suffered losses estimated at millions of South Sudanese pounds.

There were no immediate reports of injuries from the market fire.

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