Three people were burnt to death in a blazing fire that swept through parts of the Race Course slum in Kumasi in the early hours of yesterday.
The fire also consumed a number of wooden structures at the place, causing pandemonium as hundreds of residents of the area ran for safety.
The deceased, who were completely burnt, were identified by eyewitnesses as Baba Ali, 35; Kwame Odame (age unknown) and an 18-year-old man known in the area only as "Shine". Eyewitnesses said Baba Ali recently relocated his pregnant wife from the slum but continued to live there himself and was sleeping in the same wooden structure with the two others at the time of the incident.
The police have since deposited their remains at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) morgue. In all, seven wooden structures were completely burnt by the fire. Twelve other people who were sleeping in some of the wooden structures, however, escaped unhurt. The cause of the fire was not immediately known and while some eyewitnesses said they suspected an electrical fault as a result of the many illegal power connections in the area, others said they suspected it was from a burning candle. The Daily Graphic reporters who went to the scene observed that electric wires supplying electricity to the wooden structures had been haphazardly connected, crisscrossing one another. The Race Course slum, noted as a hub for criminals, has been earmarked for a multi-purpose complex comprising an amusement park, a recreational centre, shopping malls, hotels and a business centre. The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, is spearheading the project, for which a sod-cutting ceremony was held last week, and there are plans to eject all the slum dwellers for the project to begin.
The police have since deposited their remains at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) morgue. In all, seven wooden structures were completely burnt by the fire. Twelve other people who were sleeping in some of the wooden structures, however, escaped unhurt. The cause of the fire was not immediately known and while some eyewitnesses said they suspected an electrical fault as a result of the many illegal power connections in the area, others said they suspected it was from a burning candle. The Daily Graphic reporters who went to the scene observed that electric wires supplying electricity to the wooden structures had been haphazardly connected, crisscrossing one another. The Race Course slum, noted as a hub for criminals, has been earmarked for a multi-purpose complex comprising an amusement park, a recreational centre, shopping malls, hotels and a business centre. The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, is spearheading the project, for which a sod-cutting ceremony was held last week, and there are plans to eject all the slum dwellers for the project to begin.
Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana
