General News of Friday, 13 March 2015
Source: Telegraph
Six persons had a miraculous escape after an explosion in a private restaurant at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) Cargo D’or Combined Farms building in Accra severely damaged the eatery.
Two out of the six female staff of the “Hungry Home” restaurant who were busily cooking the day’s menu were trapped by the fire as the others fled for their lives.
An eyewitness said one of the victims fell unconscious “probably out of panic but was resuscitated and taken to the Aviation Clinic by some rescuers where she was treated and discharged”.
It is suspected she collapsed after inhaling the smoke from the fire.
The intervention by firefighters from the Ghana National Fire Service and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority brought the fire, which started at about 8:30a.m. yesterday under control.
Destruction
When the Daily Graphic visited the scene, the owner of the restaurant, Ms Diana Ameyaw, was seen with some of her workers evacuating the items that were salvaged from the fire.
The items destroyed included a deep freezer, cooking utensils, stoves and food items.
Cause
The husband of the proprietor, Mr Franklyn Ofosu, said it was the first time the restaurant that had been in operation for the past 20 years had caught fire.
He explained that the kitchen staff were cooking in the morning when a gas tube connected to a lit stove burst.
Mr Ofosu said though one of the workers managed to turn off the valves of the two gas cylinders which were in front of the kitchen, they also caught fire from the leaked gas, which quickly spread through the kitchen and other sections of the restaurant.
Assurance
The Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) has, however, assured the public in a statement that operations at the airport had not been affected by the incident.
The statement said an investigation into the cause of the fire was ongoing.