Tema (Greater Accra) - Eight canoes at the Tema Fishing Harbour caught fire on Monday morning, with six of them burnt beyond repairs. One of the canoes that was being prepared to go fishing in the morning had its fishing nets burnt with the canoe.
Two people sustained serious burns as a result of the fire and were rushed to the Tema General Hospital where they are on admission. Newsmen were refused to entry to see the state of the victims at the hospital, because the Director of the hospital had gone out.
An eyewitness account had it that fuel for outboard motors was ignited by fire that someone was using to prepare fresh fish soup. But for the timely arrival of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) Fire Service about 200 canoes could have been burnt. The cost of the canoes that caught fire could not be estimated immediately.