PARTS OF the new Kejetia Market in Kumasi got destroyed when an inferno swept through the upper floor of the edifice yesterday.
The blaze, reportedly, started from one of the shops at the third floor of the market and spread through other shops in a dangerous fashion around 5pm, the DAILY GUIDE has been informed.
According to eyewitnesses’ reports, a thick smoke was seen billowing from one of the shops, where cloth dealers are located, and it spread to other shops.
Sensing danger, the traders in the market, then took to their heels, leaving behind their wares and products, in a desperate attempt to save their lives.
Fortunately, when this report was being filed, there was no report of death or injuries. The traders, even though some of them are old, managed to ran from harm’s path.
However, there were reports that some of the traders collapsed after inhaling smoke for some minutes.
Some of the traders also got trapped at the top floor of the market, so they used ropes to descend from the top floor to the ground floor.
Within few minutes, firefighters raced to the scene of the inferno and managed to douse it. Eyewitnesses said the firemen did a yeoman’s job in containing the blaze.
At the time of filing the report, the fire was still burning some valuable items in most of the shops, especially cloths.
Firefighters were still battling the inferno.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known as personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), who are investigating the fire, are yet to produce their findings.
However, grapevine information suggested that the traders cook food in the market with open fire, so they suspected that a fire from the traders may have started the inferno, whilst some traders also alleged that power fluctuation caused the blaze.
Interestingly, there were other reports that thieves and pickpockets at Kejetia took advantage of the fire outbreak to enter opened shops to steal.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi