ACCRA, Ghana, October 8 (Infosplusgabon) – Fatalities have been recorded in the huge explosion at a liquefied gas filling station at a busy interchange in the north of the Ghanaian capital, Accra, on Saturday night that caused panic.
« Unfortunately, there have been casualties, » Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Deputy Information minister said on Saturday night, as firemen and security agencies moved to contain the situation.
« We will give figures in the morning (Sunday). Ambulances have conveyed people to the hospitals and they are responding to treatment, » he added.
The explosion occurred at the gas filling station sending a huge fireball into the night sky. An adjacent petrol filling also caught fire with initial reports saying a lorry station nearby and many vehicles have been burned down totally. The flames could be seen in the air several kilometres away.
« People are running in all directions. Vehicles are turning around. There is total panic in the area, » one eyewitness said when the explosion occurred. One report said an LPG tanker, which mush have exploded, was in flames and firemen were dousing it.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah said some 200 policemen have been deployed to the area to secure it, give assistance to emergency services and control crowds.
The area is a very busy interchange that also has a lorry station. A hostel of the University of Ghana is just behind it while a second cycle school is not far away. It is also a busy road that leads out of Accra to the Eastern Regional capital, Koforidua.
« It is really terrifying, » a correspondent of the Accra-based citifm reported. “I can hear piercing sound of gas explosion. I can see a lot of fire tenders here trying to put the fire off. The residual gas in the container is burning. I can still hear sounds of explosion. The whole area has been cordoned off by the police. No vehicle is being allowed to the scene,” he added.
People are sharing disturbing pictures of the fire on social media. Residents are calling into radio stations seeking information on the fire.
A huge fire at a petrol filling station in Accra in June 2015 claimed scores of lives.
FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/MPL/GABON 2017
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