Akyenim, a fishing community near Axim in the Nzema East Municipality of the Western Region, was thrown into a state of wailing when three innocent children were burnt to death after fire gutted the room in which they were sleeping.
The unfortunate incident, which occurred early Wednesday morning, also led to the injury of three other occupants of the room.
The charred bodies of the three children, who were burnt beyond recognition, have since been deposited at the Axim Government Hospital for further investigations.
According to sources, the inferno also destroyed property worth thousands of Ghana cedis.
The deceased children, whose identities were not immediately known, are believed to be between the ages of five and 10 years.
The cause of the fire outbreak was also not immediately known.
Confirming the story, a resident of Axim, John Kwofie Jnr, popularly called ‘Gatuso’, disclosed that six persons were in the room at the time of the fire outbreak.
He stated that the parents and their last born survived the incident, while the three other children were burnt beyond recognition.
Mr. Kwofie indicated that the survivors were rushed to the Axim Government Hospital for treatment, and stressed that their condition was not encouraging.
He disclosed that as at the time of filing this report, arrangement was being made for a chopper to send the injured to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra for further treatment.
Meanwhile, the father of the deceased children, Kwame Asare, who also sustained serious injuries but managed to speak, indicated that he was helpless when the incident occurred.
“We all went to sleep at around 9pm just after eating on Tuesday. At midnight, I heard a sound that I thought was thunder, but suddenly everywhere in the room became dark and full of smoke.
“I was able to rescue my wife and one child. I had sustained burn wounds and was helpless, so I rushed out and started shouting for help.
“But it was too late. My other three children had already been burnt to death,” he pointed out.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi