Alot got destroyed by the fire outbreak, It has emerged that, aside from the destruction of goods and wares, the affected traders in the Kejetia market fire also lost an undisclosed amount of money.
The Wednesday evening blaze, which swept through the ultramodern market around 5:00 pm, destroyed a number of shops and the valuable items that were stored in them.
Unspecified amounts of Ghana Cedis notes were burned by the blaze before it was finally put out by firefighters after three hours.
According to the affected traders, they kept their money in the market, but unfortunately, they lost a huge amount of money to the fire.
50 Shops Affected
Meanwhile, it has been announced that 20 shops and the items that were stored in them got burned to ashes during the fire outbreak.
Nana Prempeh, one of the leaders of the Kejetia traders, told the media that 54 shops in Kejetia were affected by the fire, with 20 shops totally burnt.
“Twenty shops were totally gutted by the blaze, four shops were affected partially, and an additional 20 shops were forcibly broken into for access to quench the fire,” he disclosed.
According to Nana Prempeh, the managers of the market were yet to identify other shops at Kejetia that were also affected by the water that was used to fight the inferno.
Kejetia Closed
According to Nana Prempeh that the market had officially been closed down for three days, following a suggestion from the Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC).
He, however, said traders who deal in perishable goods have been given the opportunity to remove their wares out of the market and sell them somewhere to avert losses.
Minister’s Tour
In a related development, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, who is also head of REGSEC, toured the market yesterday to assess the damage.
He suggested that the market be closed to the traders and the public for at least three days so that the place could be cleaned before it was reopened.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, who was certainly not happy about the damage caused by the inferno, said the cause of the fire outbreak would be investigated.
Cause of Fire
Meanwhile, the cause of the Kejetia inferno was still under investigation when this story was filed yesterday. Firefighters, however, have begun the probe.
It has also emerged that no deaths were recorded during the fire outbreak. Reports suggested that some traders collapsed after inhaling smoke, but they were resuscitated.
However, there were reports that some traders sustained body injuries, especially those that were trapped on the upper floor and had to use ropes to descend to the ground floor.
