A17-year-old boywas on Saturday killed by a fire that gutted a popular slum behind the Ghana Cocoa Board(COCOBOD) building at Asafo in Kumasi.
More than 30 makeshift structures, accommodating about 80 persons, were destroyed in the fire that was said to have started at about 11p.m.
Fire fighters managed to bring the situation under control on Sunday afternoon.
The deceased, said to be a driver’s mate, was locked up in one of the wooden structures.
He was not immediately identified but the body had been conveyed to the mortuary of the KomfoAnokye Teaching Hospital.
The Divisional Fire Officer of Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Rashid Nisawu, indicated that the cause of the fire was being investigated.
However, some eyewitnesses claimed there was a gas explosion from a cylinder.
Most of the victims of the fire incident claimed they had lost thousands of Ghana cedis in cash besides other valuables.
“I secured a loan facility to furnish this place but all my belongings have been completely destroyed,” one Nyamekyesaid.
The incident comes barely two weeks after two fire outbreaks were recorded in the Ashanti Region.
In the first instance, a section of the Kumasi Central Market was gutted by fire that destroyed about 40 shops in the late hours of a Sunday.
The section harboured shoe makers and leather sellers, and it took a lot of time for the fire personnel to bring the situation under control.
The second fire occurred at the Mampong Teacher Training College, where the administration block housing the offices of the Principal of the college,his vice and other officials were burnt.
FROM KINGSLEY E.HOPE, KUMASI
