Ashanti Region: Fire guts Akwatialine wood market
Efforts are underway to bring a raging fire under control at a popular wood market at Akwatialine in Kumasi.
The fire started around 9am on Thursday morning. The cause is still unknown.
At least three fire tenders have been dispatched to tackle the fire.
Citi News’ Hafiz Tijani said owners of the wood companies are stranded, and there are fears by residents that the fire will extend to wooden structures near the site of the explosion.
“We have some electricity pylons here and the wires are down. There is a big danger for the residents here,” he said.
An eyewitness who spoke to Citi News said this is not the first time such an outbreak has been recorded at the wood market.
He suspects that a gas cylinder that exploded at the scene made the outbreak worse.
“This fire has affected more than 300 people… A gas cylinder caused the fire to intensity, if not, we would have controlled the fire. This is not the first time such a fire is happening. In 2010 a similar thing happened, and it was more serious that what we are experiencing today. That one affected over 400 people,” he said.
The chairman of head porters at the wood market also appealed to the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) to come to the aid of the head porters who have lost their properties to the fire.
According to him, many of the porters who lived in wooden structures within the market could not recover any property.
“I know many people and all their goods are burnt. They have lost all investments, so I am begging NADMO and government to come and help them. They couldn’t even take a single thing from their items,” he said.
Source: Citinewsroom
