Fire at the Corona market in Tambacounda: Aïssata Ba loses more than 20 million FCFA

A violent fire that occurred on the night of Monday, October 19 at the Corona market in Tambacounda ravaged several canteens and stores. Among the victims is Aïssata Ba, who lost her four shops and more than 20 million FCFA in goods. The disaster also cost the life of Pa Diallo, a man who came to help him save his property.

TAMBACOUNDA – Her eyes still marked by pain, Aïssata Ba struggles to measure the extent of the damage. In a few hours, this trader, established for several years at the Corona market in Tambacounda, saw her four shops go up in smoke, taking away goods valued at more than 20 million FCFA. “We took inventory in the morning. In my absence, the children worked well. They recorded a turnover of 20.5 million FCFA for goods,” she says, still in shock.

Around 9 p.m., his employees called him to inform him that the market was on fire. In an emergency, she asks them to recover a notebook containing the names of customers who owe her money after taking goods, as well as a file in which she had stored documents, notably house papers.

The employees comply and move the first bags to another canteen. But the respite was short-lived: the property thus sheltered was, in turn, engulfed in flames. Helpless, the shopkeeper watches the destruction of her goods and personal effects.

Recently widowed, she had just finished her period of widowhood of four months and ten days. Added to this material loss is a human tragedy. Pa Diallo, who came to help him take out his goods, inhaled a large quantity of smoke. Feeling unwell, he was taken to hospital, where he died. “Pa Diallo came to help me take out the luggage, but he breathed a lot of smoke. He choked. They took him to the hospital. “That’s where he died,” she laments.

Despite this twist of fate, Aïssata Ba strives to keep the faith. “It’s true that what happened to me is painful, but it could have been even worse. I could lose my life. Alhamdulillah, I give thanks to God and I keep the faith,” she confides with resignation.

Among the first traders to set up at the market, she had previously been evicted from her location at the central market, which she says she acquired for 300,000 FCFA. Relocated to the Corona market, she claims to have paid 400,000 FCFA for her three other canteens.

Beyond the losses suffered by traders, the disaster highlights the question of the organization of the market and the accessibility of emergency routes. According to Aïssata Ba, the firefighters, who arrived on the scene, encountered difficulties in quickly accessing the site due to the narrowness of the roads.

The trader recognizes that the anarchic occupation of certain spaces poses a problem, but highlights the difficulty of enforcing the rules in an environment where traders seek above all to preserve their activities. “When you ask someone not to settle on the path, they take you for someone mean and accuse you of not knowing the realities of a market,” she explains.

To prevent such a tragedy from happening again, Aïssata Ba pleads for better organization of the market and the freeing up of emergency routes, in order to facilitate the intervention of firefighters in the event of an emergency. She also appeals to the authorities to support the victims of the fire and help them overcome this ordeal.