Fuel gushes out of underground tanks at Ashaiman

Residents of Ashaiman close to the main bus terminal are said to be living in fear after fuel from a Total fuel station, started gushing out when water seeped into the underground storage tank following a downpour on Tuesday.

The incident, which is similar to what is believed to have caused the deadly explosion at the GOIL Fuel Station in Accra in 2015, reportedly had some residents fleeing the scene while others went to have a closer look.

According to Citi News' Tema Correspondent, Elvis Washington, the area has since been cordoned off by personnel of the fuel station but some oil stains are still visible.

“I'm at the Total Fuel station at Ashaiman which is situated close to the Ashaiman main lorry terminal. On the floor you can see oil stains. They have also cordoned off the area where the underground tanks are,” he reported.

Over 150 people died following the flood and fire disaster near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra on June 3, 2016.

Preliminary investigations revealed that there were huge volumes of water in the Goil station's fuel tanks. The reports had suggested that because the water managed to get into the tanks, it carried the fuel into the flooded area which later ignited.

In the Ashaiman incident today [Tuesday], personnel at the fuel station denied the claims of a spill, insisting that the stains were there because the station was still under construction.

“I talked to one of the engineers here who told me that the fuel station is still under construction. They claim there is no spillage but the oil is visible. They are denying the report but you can see the oil stains on the road,” he said.

Elvis reported that, the fuel station is situated in front of a hospital and close to the main bus terminal, putting the lives of people at risk should there be an explosion.

The team members testing the presence of water in the tanks at the fuel station

“The area is close to a hospital. The health facility is directly behind the fuel station. The main lorry terminal is very close to the fuel station. It is at a very strategic location; but it is dangerous in terms of the facilities around. As it is now, there's some spillage but the management is denying that fact,” he said.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana