Two traders collapsed on Wednesday and were rushed to the nearest hospitals, after fire gutted 10 shops at the Balogun bus stop area of Iju-Ishaga, Lagos State, New Telegraph reports.

According to eyewitnesses, the fire outbreak was caused by power surge and started from one of the shops at about 2am.

One of the shop owners, simply identified as Mummy Tolu, was among the two traders  that collapsed and was rushed to hospital. Other traders claimed that she was presently in a coma.

The woman collapsed after she discovered that her shop burnt to the grounds, along with goods worth over N5million, which she had recently purchased. The victim sells textile materials in large quantities.

The second victim, a man, also passed out after he sighted his shop on fire. He was also rushed to the nearest hospital. It was alleged that he left N3million in his shop the previous day, planning to take it to bank the following day. The fire, however, destroyed the money, even before the trader got to his shop on Wednesday.

A resident, Mrs George, said: “A Yoruba woman, selling clothing material had just stocked her shop. When she saw her shop, she fainted and went into coma. I was not there when the fire started, but when PHCN returned power at about  2 am, I heard something like an explosion, coming from outside, resulting in the fire. Fire fighters came, along with the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LSNC). They were closely followed by the police. And then people came out of their houses. When the Yoruba woman saw her shop on fire, she collapsed and was rushed to the hospital.”

Another resident, Mrs Olayinka, said: “One of the shop owners had just stocked her shop with goods for Christmas. A few minutes later, we discovered that a man, who left N3million in his shop, fainted and was rushed to the nearby hospital.”

The Public Relations Officer of the Balogun Community Development Association, Mr Oluwaseun Iroko, said: “When it comes to fire, one cannot really trace what could be the cause. What we know is that between 2:30 to 3:00 am, we discovered there was a fire outbreak. We thank God for the quick intervention of the fire service department of Lagos State. They did so much! If not for them, the fire would have gone out of control. Luckily for us, they arrived in the nick of time and within 15 minutes, the fire had been doused.”