Fire guts parts of Odawna market around Accra circle again
Odawna Market at Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra have been gutted by fire again. In January 2019, about 80 stalls got destroyed after a fire outbreak at the market. No deaths was recorded last year however, assorted goods belonging to market women perished. Well, history has repeated itself as hundreds of stalls got burnt down…
Odawna Market at Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra have been gutted by fire again.
In January 2019, about 80 stalls got destroyed after a fire outbreak at the market. No deaths was recorded last year however, assorted goods belonging to market women perished.
Well, history has repeated itself as hundreds of stalls got burnt down in another fire outbreak this Wednesday dawn.
Reports indicate that the fire raged for hours before it could be put out.
The cause of the fire has not been established yet but viral photos, and videos on social media saw a fire spreading in the market.
Watch the video below:
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 personnel from the fire service got to the scene, the entrance of the market had been blocked, making it impossible for the fire tender to move to where the fire was.
He explained that when the personnel got in touch with the market women to move their items, they refused to allow the men in the area to assist.
“Around 10:30 to 11 pm I was moving from the VIP Station heading to the market when I saw smoke. It was from a small fire. We started to put it out with water that we could find before rushing to call the fire service.”
The eyewitness further narrated that “the team rushed over with a vehicle and asked for the entrance to be cleared but the women insisted that they will move the items alone. When we finally had access to the market, we decided to remove all the cylinders from the stores close to the fire to prevent an explosion but again the women refused.”
“They accused us of trying to steal their stuff and locked up the market again,” he added.
“Within seconds, a cylinder exploded and caused the fire to spread. The fire service tried to put it out but it was difficult because of the cylinders and the types of items lying around. The fire service came back with about 10 cars but the fire is still burning.”
