Ghana: Fire at Ghana liquefied gas filling station brought under control

08 Octobre 2017

Accra, Ghana, October 8 (Infosplusgabon) - The huge fire caused by an explosion at a liquefied gas filling station at a busy interchange in the north of the Ghanaian capital, Accra, on Saturday night has been brought under control, according to fire officers at the scene.

The Director of Operations of the Ghana Police Service, George Akuffo-Dampare also said during the night that the security situation was under control. About 200 police officers were sent to the scene to secure the area.

The Deputy Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said on Saturday night that there were casualties but did not give any figures.

"Unfortunately, there have been casualties," he said.

"We will give figures in the morning (Sunday). Ambulances have conveyed people to the hospitals and they are responding to treatment," he added.

The Deputy Director of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Abu Ramadan, said one person died when he jumped in panic from the top of overpass at the interchange.

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.

There was chaos when the explosions occurred, eyewitnesses said. One report said an LPG tanker must have exploded, triggering other explosions and a huge fire.

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 but all the students are safe, police said.

A huge fire at a petrol filling station in Accra in June 2015 claimed scores of lives.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/PLM/GABON 2017

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