A 17-year-old boy has died after fire swept through over 30 makeshift structures at Asafo in the Kumasi metropolis, displacing over 70 persons living in a slum near COCOBOD.

Firefighters say the cause of the outbreak is still unknown. The victims of the fire say they are trying to come to terms with the reality of what happened.

Some persons who have been displaced told Citi News that they lost properties worth thousands of Ghana cedis in the blaze and want government to come to their aid. “I secured a loan to furnish this place but all my belongings have been completely destroyed. We need the government’s intervention. One of my siblings was staying in my structure. He had his mattress and luggage inside. I secured a loan facility, and I’ve spent around four thousand five hundred cedis on the structure. I am being evicted [from my current apartment], so I was planning to move in tomorrow so my three children> Now I don’t know what to do,” Nyamekye Ayine, one of the victims lamented.

“The fire started around 2:30 pm. I was almost here when I heard of the incident. I was told someone was using a gas cylinder at the time. What is very sad about this is that, a 17-year-old boy and a small child with him were together locked inside a room and got burnt. We were unable to save them. The 17-year-old was a driver’s mate. I am also a driver’s mate. This is indeed a sad situation for us. The foam company located here has been here for a very long time,” Nana Yaw, another victim lamented.

The KMA divisional fire officer, DO1, Rashid Nisawu indicated that the fire started around 2 pm on Sunday. He said from their initial investigations, one person died while over 30 makeshift structures were destroyed.

Meanwhile, the body of the deceased has been conveyed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching hospital morgue.