A man, who took advantage of the absence of his pregnant wife and invited his girlfriend to spend the night with him, has perished in a fire outbreak together with the girlfriend.

The incident occurred at the man?s Chiapetre residence in Kumasi on Saturday night. It also destroyed four other rooms in the house and property running into millions of cedis. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Residents have ruled out electrical fault since the house was not connected to electricity. Police have, however, picked up a 19-year-old-man for questioning. The charred bodies of the deceased, Kofi Nyarko, said to be a cabbage farmer and Ama Dufie, have since been deposited at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital mortuary for autopsy. The incident happened few metres away from the regional headquarters of the Ghana National Fire Service. Residents said the woman had been visiting the man since his pregnant wife left for her hometown to deliver. The fire was said to have started in the room in which the two people were sleeping before sweeping through four other rooms in the house.

According to residents, about 10 other occupants of the house, including children, managed to escape unhurt from the fire but the two were believed to have been trapped in the room.

When the fire was brought under control, the body of the man was found lying behind the door while that of the woman lay near the window on a burnt bed. They were said to have shouted at the top of their voices for help but the intense nature prevented anyone from rescuing them.