Two fuel tankers catch fire outside refinery

A tanker loaded with petrol and parked in the waiting area around the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) on Thursday caught fire and spread the blaze to another vehicle waiting to be loaded, causing considerable damage to the two vehicles.

Firemen from the Ghana Fire Service, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and Volta Aluminium Company jointly battled the blaze, which started around 1615 hours and brought it under control at about 1820 hours, TOR officials and eyewitnesses told the Ghana News Agency (GNA).

Other tankers parked in the area had to be moved away to safety. Eyewitnesses said they heard a loud blast from the loaded tanker, followed by a ball of fire.

The incident happened at the time Ghanaians poured out into the streets to celebrate a 2-1 win by the national team, Black Stars, against their United States counterparts in their last Group 'E' World Cup currently underway in Germany.

What sparked off the blaze was not known immediately but the authorities said they were investigating.

The driver of the empty tanker, Alhaji Fuseni Usman, said he was inside the premises of the refinery processing documents prior to loading, when his attention was drawn to his burning vehicle.

The driver of the loaded tanker was not immediately available for comments.

Meanwhile, security personnel had been deployed around the area where the fire occurred to ensure that potential evidence or clues that might help to unravel the cause of the blaze are not tampered with.