Fire guts warehouse, several feared burned to death

Accra, Nov. 18, GNA - Several people are feared burned to death when fire on Monday night gutted a warehouse containing firecrackers and plastic toys at NIC near Ablekuma in Accra.

An unknown number of persons are also feared to have been trapped under the warehouse that collapsed after a loud explosion. A driver and two others, who were at the warehouse to offload goods from a KIA truck, were among the dead, according to witnesses. One of them who identified himself as Kwesi told Ghana News Agency that the incident occurred around 1800 hours and the cause of the fire is not yet known.

He said residents around observed thick smoke billowing from the warehouse but they could not rush in to save any of the victims. The fire, he said, spread to three houses nearby but did not cause much harm. He said two persons have also been taken to hospital. The witness said the Fire Service fire tenders could not get to the scene early due to vehicular traffic and difficulty in accessing the Anyaah-Ablekuma route that is under construction. As at 0600 hours on Tuesday when GNA got to the scene, the fire was still smouldering but fire fighters were at the scene to save the situation.