A building at Zongo Lane in Rawlings Park, Accra, partially collapsed after being engulfed in a fire that caused extensive damage.
The collapse occurred when the weakened top floor of the building gave way, heightening safety concerns in the busy commercial area.
Eyewitnesses reported that the fire started around 7:30 am, quickly spreading through several structures in the hub and leaving behind widespread destruction.
Despite the efforts of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) to control the flames, the building sustained severe structural damage, ultimately leading to the collapse.
Affected shop owners, speaking to Channel One TV, expressed their devastation at the losses they have incurred due to the fire.
Alex King Nartey, an officer in the Public Relations Department of the GNFS, highlighted the challenges faced in battling the blaze, noting that the fire was intensified by the explosion of gas cylinders and generators, which caused the flames to spread rapidly. "Our team upon arrival realised there was a fire involving a warehouse.
To fight the fire, they had to get ECG to cut the power supply to the area.
It took a while to cut the power.
The problem is that accessibility was curtailed, even the stairs, leading to another floor were fortified with burglarproof and padlocks. "To even get access to cut the fire from spreading to other floors were curtailed, because the padlocks and fortifications were too much.
That's what delayed and so we have to call our rescue team. "If you realise the kind of materials here, generators, gas cylinders, and right now we fear the building might collapse.
It's been very tough to fight and until the fire is totally out we are not going."