Fire kills 2 Chinese businessmen at Ekounou shopping center in Yaounde

Rita Akana

Local residents in Ekounou in the district of Yaounde IV lived a black Tuesday as flames attacked a large section of the Ekounou market destroying 2 major shops and killing its Chinese owners. The heavy loss estimated at several million CFA francs also did include the lives of Ming Xhiao, a 22 year old Chinese businessman and his younger brother 19 year old Yuh Chao. The fire is reported to have greatly shattered the boutiques that also served as their home.

The fire fighters from the Mimboman locality arrived at the scene shortly after and managed to isolate the fire. The bodies of the dead Chinese were taken to the morgue of the Yaoundé General Hospital. An investigation was opened by the police of the 14th district of the capital, to determine the origin of the fire. This is the second market fire in Cameroon since the beginning of 2015.