A 13-year-old boy has lost his life after a fire swept through a nine-bedroom house at Tarkwa Makro in Kumasi, destroying the building and several personal belongings.

The incident occurred late on Monday night, with residents making frantic attempts to rescue occupants before personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) arrived to bring the blaze under control.

The deceased, identified as Hassan, is said to have been trapped inside one of the rooms as the fire spread rapidly through the house.

An occupant of the house, identified only as Prince, said he was unable to rescue the boy despite responding to his cries for help because of his own physical condition.

"I'm sick and disabled. When the fire started, Hassan was calling me, 'Bra Prince, I'm burning; help me.' I asked him to open the door, but he said it was locked and he couldn't open it. I did what I could, but I couldn't save him," he narrated.

Prince broke down in tears as he recounted the incident.

He said only four people were in the house when the fire broke out.

Residents also joined efforts to rescue the trapped boy, but their attempts were unsuccessful before the flames engulfed the building.

Firefighters later arrived at the scene and extinguished the blaze, preventing it from spreading to adjoining structures.

The body of the deceased was subsequently recovered.

Officials of the Ghana National Fire Service have commenced investigations to determine the cause of the fire.