Efforts are underway to bring a raging fire under control at a popular wood market at Akwatialine in Kumasi.
The fire started around 9 am on Thursday morning. The cause of the inferno is not immediately known.
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.
“We have some electricity pylons here and the wires are down. This 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 incident has been recorded at the wood market.
He suspects that a gas cylinder that exploded at the scene worsened the situation.
“This fire has affected more than 300 people… A gas cylinder caused the fire to intensity, if not, we could 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 than 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 property 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 the government to come and help them. They couldn’t even take a single thing from their items,” he said.
