[ad_1]
Hundreds of stalls at the Odawna Market on Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra are ablaze after an outbreak, Wednesday at dawn.
The fire, which according to eyewitnesses has lasted for hours, has shocked residents of the area and owners of stores in the market, also known as the Pedestrian Mall.
Although the cause of the fire is unknown, videos show the fire spreading to other parts of the market.
A crowd has already gathered at the scene along with police and fire personnel.
An eyewitness who spoke to JoyNews accused some market women of being responsible for the spread of the fire.
According to the witness, when the fire service personnel arrived at the scene, the entrance to the market had been blocked, which made it impossible for the fire tender to move to where the fire was.
She explained that when staff contacted market women to move their items, they refused to allow local men to help them.
“Around 10:30 to 11 at night, I was moving from the VIP station to the market when I saw smoke. It was from a small fire. We started to put it out with water we could find before rushing to call the fire department. “
The witness further narrated that “the team ran with a vehicle and requested that the entrance be cleared, but the women insisted that they would move the items alone. When we finally had access to the market, we decided to remove all the cylinders from the stores near the fire to avoid an explosion, but again the women refused ”.
“They accused us of trying to steal their things and they closed the market again,” he added.
“In a matter of seconds, a cylinder exploded and caused the fire to spread. The fire service tried to put it out, but it was difficult due to the cylinders and the types of items lying around. The fire service returned with about 10 cars, but the fire is still burning.
However, this is not the first time that the Odawna market has caught fire.
In January last year, some 80 stalls were destroyed after a fire swept through the market.
Although no deaths or injuries were recorded, eyewitnesses say that large amounts of goods of various kinds belonging to merchants were lost along with huge sums of money.
