Bogoso explosion: 500 houses blown into pieces at Appiatse

National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has confirmed that over 500 houses have been destroyed in Thursday's explosion which occurred at Bogoso-Appiatse in the Western Region.

A Deputy Coordinator of NADMO, Sedzi Seji Amedonu, who confirmed this during a visit to the community by the Vice President, said some of the houses have been razed down completely by the explosion while others have developed cracks.

"It's almost like a ghost town now," he said.

According to him “We have a case on our hands now. 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. It's almost like a ghost town now”.

He explained “Some of the houses were burnt while others have been covered by the debris so we're still carrying out the search and rescue operation. Most of the cars that were around during the explosion also have their windscreens damaged”.

Meanwhile, aside from the explosion which has caused the death of 17 persons, the explosion has also injured over 179 people, with at least 45 in critical conditions at various health centres.

Due to that, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has announced that the Akufo-Addo led government has initiated a process to build some facilities for persons who have been displaced in Thursday's explosion.

The Vice-President described the incident as a sad day for the country, adding that the government is working tirelessly to ensure the victims receive the best medical care.

He expressed gratitude to all the agencies who are helping with the rescue efforts.

“I want to assure Nananom that His Excellency the President has given us directives, and I have already spoken to the state housing company and in consultation with the mining companies around here, we will quickly try to put in facilities that will help those who have been displaced.

“So that is going to be one of the priorities for all of us, so just to assure you that government is fully engaged in all of these processes and we are going to see to it that the people here are taken care of, we will learn lessons and those are going to be much later on,” D.r Bawumia said.

“But for now, we are very much concerned about how to complete this rescue effort, how to take care of the injured, families, and people who have survived. So we are going to work collaboratively to ensure all of these happen.”

Background

The police said the preliminary investigation has established that a mining explosive vehicle moving from Tarkwa to Chirano mines collided with a motorcycle resulting in the explosion.

The Municipal Chief Executive for Prestea Huni-Valley Dr Isaac Asamani also said they have set up relief centers to accommodate most of the displaced people as the search and rescue operation continues.

According to him, ‘We've set up relief centers. The whole community is gone. All the roofs have been ripped off and some of the buildings have collapsed. Some were trapped in their rooms but we've been able to rescue them”.

“It's a very sad day for me. We are appealing to churches and schools in nearby villages to make their buildings available for the displaced persons to get a place to sleep for the meantime,” he added.

---DGN online