The Fort Worth Press - 17 killed, 59 injured by explosion in western Ghana

USD -
AED 3.673006
AFN 67.000311
ALL 92.449862
AMD 387.650577
ANG 1.803609
AOA 912.000072
ARS 998.1981
AUD 1.540618
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.706465
BAM 1.839835
BBD 2.020546
BDT 119.582702
BGN 1.851502
BHD 0.376887
BIF 2898
BMD 1
BND 1.337466
BOB 6.915139
BRL 5.806962
BSD 1.000762
BTN 84.395861
BWP 13.578807
BYN 3.274884
BYR 19600
BZD 2.01714
CAD 1.39948
CDF 2865.000212
CHF 0.885795
CLF 0.035513
CLP 979.90972
CNY 7.2244
CNH 7.244355
COP 4479
CRC 511.011392
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 104.849946
CZK 23.9373
DJF 177.719992
DKK 7.06055
DOP 60.375024
DZD 133.998993
EGP 49.3251
ERN 15
ETB 122.049964
EUR 0.94655
FJD 2.27125
FKP 0.786951
GBP 0.78699
GEL 2.730338
GGP 0.786951
GHS 16.093319
GIP 0.786951
GMD 71.000122
GNF 8629.999871
GTQ 7.732613
GYD 209.3638
HKD 7.781365
HNL 25.060257
HRK 7.133507
HTG 131.582908
HUF 386.059763
IDR 15845.9
ILS 3.754225
IMP 0.786951
INR 84.42365
IQD 1310.5
IRR 42092.500584
ISK 139.430268
JEP 0.786951
JMD 158.431955
JOD 0.7091
JPY 155.550045
KES 129.495865
KGS 86.200902
KHR 4049.999849
KMF 466.350132
KPW 899.999851
KRW 1402.789736
KWD 0.30764
KYD 0.833937
KZT 493.231612
LAK 21944.999787
LBP 89550.000237
LKR 292.48469
LRD 183.999896
LSL 18.249631
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.869392
MAD 9.95797
MDL 18.032417
MGA 4655.000074
MKD 58.249992
MMK 3247.960992
MNT 3397.999858
MOP 8.017648
MRU 39.875002
MUR 46.889881
MVR 15.450612
MWK 1735.999923
MXN 20.534202
MYR 4.459733
MZN 63.899729
NAD 18.250197
NGN 1677.460255
NIO 36.78002
NOK 11.139895
NPR 135.035137
NZD 1.70113
OMR 0.384979
PAB 1.000724
PEN 3.80195
PGK 3.93475
PHP 58.837965
PKR 278.049733
PLN 4.10935
PYG 7810.118723
QAR 3.64055
RON 4.7105
RSD 110.736994
RUB 98.498646
RWF 1365
SAR 3.75755
SBD 8.383555
SCR 13.638838
SDG 601.502988
SEK 10.984375
SGD 1.343089
SHP 0.786951
SLE 22.814981
SLL 20969.507172
SOS 571.500104
SRD 35.279997
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.756103
SYP 2512.530016
SZL 18.249869
THB 34.941496
TJS 10.662352
TMT 3.51
TND 3.147501
TOP 2.3421
TRY 34.35113
TTD 6.800373
TWD 32.450501
TZS 2659.999506
UAH 41.343769
UGX 3672.521001
UYU 42.190719
UZS 12825.000122
VES 44.996698
VND 25345
VUV 118.721975
WST 2.812855
XAF 617.092513
XAG 0.033008
XAU 0.000389
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.753908
XOF 616.50203
XPF 113.349685
YER 249.80406
ZAR 18.240398
ZMK 9001.201813
ZMW 27.374927
ZWL 321.999592
  • RBGPF

    -0.8500

    59.34

    -1.43%

  • CMSC

    0.0700

    24.61

    +0.28%

  • CMSD

    -0.0200

    24.73

    -0.08%

  • SCS

    -0.3000

    13.37

    -2.24%

  • NGG

    -0.7800

    62.12

    -1.26%

  • AZN

    0.1000

    65.29

    +0.15%

  • RIO

    -0.5800

    60.62

    -0.96%

  • GSK

    -0.4100

    35.11

    -1.17%

  • RELX

    -0.4700

    46.12

    -1.02%

  • BP

    0.4100

    28.57

    +1.44%

  • BTI

    0.1800

    35.42

    +0.51%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0500

    7.11

    -0.7%

  • BCC

    1.4200

    142.55

    +1%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.24

    +0.15%

  • BCE

    -0.4800

    27.21

    -1.76%

  • VOD

    0.2800

    8.75

    +3.2%

17 killed, 59 injured by explosion in western Ghana
17 killed, 59 injured by explosion in western Ghana

17 killed, 59 injured by explosion in western Ghana

At least 17 people were killed and 59 injured Thursday in a devastating explosion in a western Ghana town after a truck carrying explosives intended for a mine collided with a motorcycle, the government said.

Text size:

The blast left a huge crater and reduced dozens of buildings to dust-covered piles of wood and metal in Apiate, near the city of Bogoso some 300 kilometres (180 miles) west of the mineral-rich West African country's capital Accra.

Footage verified by AFP showed locals rushing towards a raging fire and rising plumes of black smoke to inspect the damage, while rescue workers waded through the rubble to find survivors caught in the devastation and retrieve lifeless bodies.

"A total of 17 people have unfortunately been confirmed dead, and 59 injured people have been rescued," Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said in a statement released overnight.

The minister said initial signs point to "an accident involving a truck transporting explosive materials for a mining company, a motorcycle and a third vehicle" which took place near an electrical transformer.

Out of 59 people injured, 42 are receiving treatment in hospitals or health centres and "some are in critical condition", Nkrumah added.

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo called it a "truly sad, unfortunate and tragic incident" and expressed "deep condolences to the families of the deceased".

- 'Ghost town' -

Officials and eyewitnesses described a scene of desolation against the sea of buildings collapsed or impaired in the carnage.

"It's a black Thursday. So far 500 houses have been affected. Some have been razed down completely by the explosion while others have developed cracks," Sedzi Sadzi Amedonu, Deputy Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organization, told AFP.

"It's almost like a ghost town now."

Abena Mintah, who witnessed the blast, told local media the driver of the truck dropped down from his hatch, shouting at those nearby to warn them away from the flaming vehicle.

"Within a few minutes we heard a loud bang. I felt dizzy and fell in the bush. I managed to get up and saw a few dismembered bodies on the street," Mintah said.

The government said those in critical condition would be moved to hospitals in Accra and police asked surrounding villages to open their schools and churches to accommodate any additional casualties.

A team of police and army explosion experts were deployed to "avoid a second explosion" and put in place security measures after the blast, the government said in a press release.

- 'Community gone' -

Emergency services were to give a casualty update on Friday at 11:00 am (1100 GMT).

Dr Isaac Dasmani, chief executive of the Prestea Huni-Valley municipality where the explosion occurred, told local media "the whole community is gone" after the blast.

"All of the roofs have been ripped off, some of the buildings have collapsed. Some were in their rooms, and were trapped. Some of them unfortunately, before we were able to rescue them, were already gone," he told Ghana's TV3 broadcaster.

Authorities have created an access route to the scene and were working to open roads on Friday to ease traffic around the blast site, he said.

Ghana has been rocked by several deadly explosions caused by fuel accidents in recent years.

In 2017, at least three people were killed and dozens injured after a tanker truck carrying natural gas caught fire in Accra, triggering explosions at two fuel stations and killing three people.

Ghana's capital was the scene of a similar fire and explosion in June 2015, when more than 150 people died as they sought shelter from seasonal rains and flooding at a petrol station. The blaze was believed to have spread by fuel on the floodwater.

Deadly accidents linked to the mining sector are also frequent in Ghana, Africa's second largest gold producer after South Africa, but they are mostly caused by the collapse of mines, often illegal ones.

In June, at least nine people died in the collapse of an illegal mine in northern Ghana.

C.Dean--TFWP