Anto-Aboso quarry site explosion: Four dead bodies retrieved, many still missing

Some four dead bodies have so far been retrieved from the site of the explosion at Anto-Aboso in the Shama District of the Western Region.

Officials from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) have told Citi News that 22 persons were at the site when the explosion occurred.

The four bodies retrieved included 3 Ghanaians and a foreigner.

Five injured persons are currently receiving treatment at the hospital, 10 others were said to have escaped unhurt, while the rest are unaccounted for.

“Four persons have been found dead. They are at the mortuary at the moment. Three blacks and one white lady. The other four Chinese cannot be found. We are trying to get an excavator to find out if many have been trapped,” the Shama District Officer of NADMO, Emmanual Nyan, told Citi News.

There was an ammonia nitrate explosive explosion around 10pm on Saturday, September 9, 2023, at a quarry site operated by some Chinese at Anto-Aboso in the Shama District of the Western Region.

Emmanuel Owuewie, the Assemblyman for Anto-Aboso who lives close to the quarry site told Citi News that he was in his room when his ceiling came crashing on him.

Officers from the Fire Service, NADMO and other security agencies are currently on the site helping with rescue efforts.

This comes on the back of a similar incident that occurred at Appiate in the same region.

The Appiate explosion happened on January 20, 2022, after a truck carrying explosives owned by Maxam Limited got involved in an accident resulting in the explosion.

The Appiate disaster was one that destroyed a whole community. 14 persons lost their lives while hundreds sustained varying degrees of injury.

A committee was inaugurated to probe the disaster. It subsequently presented its report to the government.

The government later fined Maxam company, which was responsible for transporting the explosives through its subcontractors $6 million.