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The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) has donated GH¢10,000 to support the medical bills of 16 persons injured in a fire outbreak at Egyiresia near Sekondi.

The fire, which occurred last Saturday, was sparked by leakages of premix fuel, which was being offloaded through the fish-smoking section of the fishing bay. A barrel containing premix fuel was reportedly rolled through the area, leaving behind droppings of fuel that came into contact with fire from ongoing fishing smoking, causing the fire that affected two vehicles and injured 16 persons.

The victims are currently receiving treatment at Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital and Saint Benedict Hospital at Inchaban, while the deceased have been identified as Joseph Adom, 15 years, and Justice Dadzie, seven years, who were also rushed to the hospital but later died from their burns.

The STMA Chief Executive, Abdul Mumin Issah, last Saturday evening, visited the hospitals and directed that an amount of GH¢10,000 be deposited to assist with the financial difficulties of the victims.

Three of the victims were admitted to Saint Benedict Hospital with various injuries, while 14 others were taken to Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital, with two in critical condition and undergoing surgery.

Giving an update on what caused the fire, the MCE said the incident happened at about 5pm on Saturday, when some fishermen tried to take delivery of prefix fuel supplied. “I had a call from the police in Sekondi that there has been a fire outbreak at Egyiresia.

We therefore moved there to assess the situation. When we arrived, we the first hand information we had was, that some premix fuel was being offloaded and the fishermen were rolling the barrels containing the fuel to the beach.

They had no idea, but unfortunately, there was some leakage and when they got to a point where a woman was smoking fish, the accident happened. “You know what happens when the slighest spark comes into contact with petrol.

The fuel had leaked from the roadside to the point where it caught fire. There was a Range Rover parked close by, that got totally burnt and a taxi which also got burnt,” the MCE stated.

He said the team had to follow up to the hospitals the victims had been sent to “We went to the St Benedict Hospital where three of the victims wo sustained  injuries have been admitted, and also went to Effia-Nkwanta where 14 of the victims had been sent

“As part of the assembly’s effort to assist the financial difficulties of the people, I have directed that an amount of GH¢10,000 should be deposited with the hospitals to treat those on admission,” Mr Issah stated.

Assembly member
The Assembly Member for Egyiresia-Mpasem, Gabriel Ato Mensah, said some of the victims were severely injured and have had to be transferred to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for further treatment.

“We recorded 16 victims with 11 being males and five females. We brought 13 of them to Effia-Nkwanta where treatment started, and we took the three to Saint Benedict Hospital at Inchaban.

 I personally took them to the hospital and later had to join the chief. “Due to the severity of their injuries, two were sent to the theatre [on Saturday] to Korle Bu and we are preparing another ambulance for one patient to Korle Bu for further treatment,” he said.