A 12-year-old boy, popularly known as Emma has been burnt to ashes in an inferno that gutted some six shops at Asafo, a suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region

The fire, according to sources started around 5: 00 o’clock Friday morning, destroying properties worth several thousands of Ghana Cedis, MyNewsGh.com has confirmed.

The Ghana National Fire Service is yet to confirm the cause of fire which has rendered several persons homeless as most of them are said to be squatters living in the shops and other makeshift structures.

The deceased, who was sleeping in one of the shops was trapped by the fire and his charred body was only discovered after the flames had been doused with support from personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service.

Officers at the KMA Fire Office who were present at the scene to quench the blaze said the cause was not immediately known, but attributed the intensity of the ravaging fire to the presence of some flammable items in some of the shops.

Some of the shops had in stock paints, turpentine and other automobile fluids and accessories.

The area, popular known as “Fitter Mu” is home to many mechanic shops and garages.