Fire guts 'Dodi Princess'

Akosombo, May 05, GNA - Dodi Princess, a Vessel on the Volta Lake at Akosombo, was on Friday gutted by fire.

There were however, no casualties.
The Principal Security Officer, Major Nii Narh Nyankoh, briefing Mr Victor Smith, the Eastern Regional Minister, explained that the security officer on duty at that time saw smoke from the kitchen and disconnected the main power source and later raised the alarm.

He said it took the Volta River Authority (VRA) fire service less than ten minutes to get to the place but could not bring the fire under control and had to call for reinforcement.

It took them about four hours to put out the fire.

Mr Fred Bart-Plange, the General Manager of Volta Hotel, who is also in charge of the vessel said the vessel normally serves as a restaurant for to tourists and can sit about 350 people at a time when it is stationary.

He said the only problem the vessel had was with the engine but was later repaired and refueled three days earlier.

Mr Bart-Plange said since none of his staff members were around at the time the fire started, he would not be in position to tell the main cause of the fire.

Mr Smith expressed worry about the extensive damage caused to the vessel but was however grateful to God that there were no casualties.

He expressed the hope that the necessary steps would be taken to replace the burnt vessel as soon as possible.

Mr Smith called for investigation into the incident to know the exact cause of the fire to avoid future occurrences.

GNA