Officials of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADCOM) and National Security are working to pull down the rubble of the China City Mall in Kumasi after a massive fire that broke out at the facility.
The new mall, opened only six months ago at Santasi, was consumed by the inferno in the late afternoon of Thursday, destroying goods worth millions of dollars.
Owners of the mall visibly distraught could only watch on as their investments worth millions of dollars got consumed by the fire.
The fire is reported to have started in the late afternoon of Thursday.
“I was returning from class when I saw that smoke was emanating from the backside of the facility, we rushed to the scene only to find out it was a fire outbreak. We called the firefighters and they informed us they were on their way,” an eyewitness noted.
At least four fire tenders moved to the scene to put the fire under control. Despite the firefighters’ efforts, the fire consumed the entire building, which housed various shops dealing in home accessories, electronics, and groceries.
It is unclear what ignited the fire as the firefighters worked to douse the inferno and subsequently identify the cause.
Kumasi City Mayor, Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi and the Regional Fire Commander, ACFO Peter Tettey were at the scene to assess the devastation.
“We can’t enter because the entire building will collapse soon. We understand they had gone on break when the fire started. They were highly combustible items sold here and also because the structure in itself has some inflammable components the fire spread fast,” the regional fire commander noted.
The mayor added: “We have called for the DRIP machines to assist with bringing in more water and helping to pull the structure down”.
It took firefighter several hours to completely douse the inferno as pockets of the fire was visibly seen within the precincts of the facility.
No casualty was reported. The mall, which opened earlier the year, had become a popular shopping destination for residents of Kumasi and surrounding communities.
It is expected that the location will become a bare land in the coming days after excavators arrived at the scene to facilitate demolition of the structure which hopefully could ne redeveloped by the owners.
Source: Emmanuel Bright Quaicoe