Traders reeling as fire destroys Ghana's largest clothes market
Ghana's informal economy has suffered an enormous blow after a fire engulfed the Kantamanto used clothes market in the capital on Thursday, destroying more than 100 shops and goods worth millions of the local cedi currency. Thousands of traders have lost their livelihoods.
The fire swept through the bustling Kantamanto Market early on Thursday morning, reducing much of it to ashes.
Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) deployed 13 fire tenders to bring the flames under control.
Goods worth millions of the local cedi currency have been destroyed, the GNFS said.
"This is devastating," said Alex King Nartey, a GNFS spokesperson. "We've not recorded severe casualties, but the economic loss is enormous."
"Preliminary investigations suggest faulty electrical connections might have sparked the blaze, although we are not ruling out arson," Nartey told France's AFP news agency.
Little remains of the more than 2,000 shops in the open-air market – a hub of Ghana's informal economy.
People were flocking, many in tears, to assess the damage, RFI correspondent Victor Cariou reported.
In the middle of the ruins, a large crowd of young scrap metal dealers were trying, on Thursday, to salvage anything they could to try and sell it on.
'I feel empty'
Around 10,000 people depend on the market to earn a living, local business associations estimate. Hundreds of traders, many specialising in the resale of used clothes, now face an uncertain future.
Isaac Ofori lost both his shops in the fire, along with all his merchandise. "My shops burned, I feel empty, he told RFI, estimating the value of his losses at more than 10 times his annual income.
(with AFP)
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