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Remember Deketeke, Herald Correspondent
Yet another fire, suspected to have been caused by an electrical fault, broke out in Harare yesterday, leaving one person injured and a businessman counting his losses after most of his stock was reduced to ashes.
The shop, Mangas Fabric, is situated near the flyover close to the end of Fidel Castro Road (formerly Charter Road).
Eyewitnesses said the blaze started around midday after electrical cables reportedly caused a fire that left one person seriously injured and damaged goods worth thousands of dollars.
An eyewitness from a nearby shop, who requested to remain anonymous, said the fire started when the shop owner had gone for his Friday prayers.
“When the fire started, there was no one inside and suddenly we heard a sound like that of a burst tyre and immediately we rushed to check what had happened,” said the eyewitness.
“One of the ladies we were with, went inside to see what had happened and that is when she got burnt leaving her with serious burns on her body and was later rushed to hospital.”
The eyewitness said that some fabric was salvaged from the shop but most of it was burnt by the raging fire.
There were differing versions of what happened, with some people saying a stock take was underway inside the shop to clear allegations of fabric theft by employees and the fire could have been an attempt by suspects to destroy evidence.
“This is believed to be the work of a mastermind who was covering up his tracks. People were inside doing a stock take and for them to make sure the owner does not establish the correct position, they needed to destroy the evidence,” said a source.
“So when the fire went out of hand, the people who were inside raced outside, leaving one lady behind resulting in her being seriously injured and rushed to the hospital.”
When The Herald visited the scene, the fire had already been put out, but the huge heap of ash suggested that a lot of fabric had been burnt although the walls remained intact.
The fire follows another one which engulfed Mbare Musika Market on Tuesday night leaving traders, farmers and transporters stranded.
Government has now offered those affected collateral-free loans so they recover.
Online Reporter