Three Perish In Fire

Three persons, including two siblings, died in a raging fire that gutted their uncompleted self-contained apartment at Adenta Sakora during the early Wednesday morning downpour. The deceased were burnt beyond recognition, as residents wore a sorrowful mood. The dead were Richmond Owusu Ansah, 6, a pupil of Sitech Preparatory School, Akosua Mercy Asante Odusubea, 17, a kenkey seller and Rita Owusua, 21, a mother of one. The victims, according to neigbours, had lived in the apartment for the past four years together with their mother, Akosua Kwantemaa, a teacher who hails from Mamfe in the Eastern Region. Residents said the incident occurred around 1.00am during the heavy downpour, but none of them heard any shouts for help due to the rain which devastated other parts of Accra. �All we saw was a thick smoke coming out of the house and before we could rush to their aid, the house was almost burnt down,� a resident said. Meanwhile, Akosua Kwantemaa, guardian of the victims, and mother of Richmond Owusu Ansah, has told DAILY GUIDE that she was with the children on Tuesday evening before she left for her husband�s house around 10.00pm. She said, �I have been living in the apartment with Richmond, my son and Akosua Mercy Asante Odusubea, my brother�s daughter, for the past four years. �Even when I got married three years ago, I used to go with Richmond to sleep in my husband�s house every day. Rita Owusua is a friend�s daughter who joined us two weeks ago,� she lamented. According to her, on Tuesday night, she left the children around 10.00pm �to my husband�s house, just meters away from here, when the children were ready to go to bed�. The grieving mother said even though they had no electricity in the apartment, they normally lit rechargeable lamp to sleep. �When I was leaving for my husband�s house, Richmond refused to go with me and so I allowed him to join his sisters in the room. Around 1.00am, I received a distress call from a neighbour saying that there was fire outbreak in my house. When I rushed to the house, to my horror and dismay, my kids had already died in the fire.� The Adenta District Police Commander, DSP Stephen K. Ahiatafu, who rushed to the scene together with his men, told DAILY GUIDE that residents called the police around 7.00am yesterday. �When we got to the scene, the fire had already been put out,� he said. He noted that it was not clear whether the fire was started by a candle. He said the bodies had since been sent to the Police Hospital morgue for autopsy while investigations into the matter continue.