Petrol station fire in Accra, Floods bring chaos, Death toll at 96

The fire has left Accra in a state of devastation

A blaze at a petrol station in Ghana’s capital, Accra, has killed at least 76 people, the Ghana National Fire service says.

The fire started as people in the city are trying to cope with two days of heavy rain, which has left many homeless and without power.

There are chaotic scenes with many roads blocked off and fears the death toll could rise as the search for bodies continues.

President John Mahama has visited the burnt-out petrol station and has appealed for calm as the authorities try to cope with aftermath of the fire and the heavy rain.

Ghana rescue operations

The mayor of Accra has appealed to people to stay at home after an overnight fire at a petrol station killed 76 people, reports the BBC’s Sammy Darko from the Ghanaian capital.

Our reporter has just sent in these photos of the rescue operation:

Our correspondent says one of those who died in the blaze was a child:

The child’s mother was consoled by bystanders:

Rescue operations are continuing:

Chaos in Accra

It is thought that people were in the petrol station sheltering from the rain when the fire began.

Two days of heavy rain has brought much of the city to its knees. There are chaotic scenes with cars being carried away by the water and many roads blocked off.

Hundreds have been trapped in their offices and some have been forced to spend the night in their cars as traffic came to a standstill.

Parts of Accra have been left without power as electricity sub-stations have been damaged in the flooding, which is making the current energy shortage even worse.

Ghana president commends rescue mission

“A lot of people have lost their lives – I’m at a loss of words to express how I feel,” Ghana’s President John Mahama said this morning at the site of the petrol station fire, which killed 96 people.

“Yesterday the emergency services including the military, the police, the fire service were all called out to come and help. They managed to rescue quite a large number of people but unfortunately a large number of people lost their lives.

“I want to take the opportunity to commend the security services for their diligence throughout yesterday night; many of them have not had any sleep.”

Crowds in Accra

The BBC’s Sammy Darko in Accra, says Ghanaian security forces have managed to cordon off the area around the petrol station where at least 96 people have died in a fire.

Hundreds of people had been seeking refuge there because of heavy rain and floods in the capital.

Crowds have gathered to watch the rescue mission:

Video of Accra inferno aftermath

‘Many people screaming’

One of the survivors of the Ghana petrol station fire in Accra was bus conductor Yaw Aforve.

“We were looking for a place to park and my bosses said we should come to this filling station, so we were sleeping in the car when we suddenly heard of a fire outbreak,” he told the BBC’s Sammy Darko.

“People were running so I came out and dived into the water.

Accra schools shut

“I came up to see what was happening and the fire burnt my face so I dived back and I was swept away by the water to the other side. I saw so many people screaming and shouting.”
In the aftermath of the Ghana petrol station fire, which has killed 96 people, and the floods that are causing havoc in the capital city, the education minister has asked children to stay at home today and all schools are closed.

Counting the cost

People have been counting the cost of the floods in Ghana’s capital city.

Items are seen here drying outside shops:

Here people rescue items from a flooded street:

Accra mayor ‘waiting for paperwork’

The mayor of Ghana’s capital, Accra, has told the BBC that his office is waiting for the Ministry of Finance “to do the paperwork” so that proposals for a “massive construction of a drainage system” for the city can go ahead.

The city has experienced severe flooding in recent days, which the fire service says contributed to an inferno at a petrol station overnight, in which at least 96 people were killed.

Alfred Oko Vanderpuije responded to criticism of his office’s handling of the emergency, telling BBC Focus On Africa radio that he believed in “permanent solutions” not in “ad-hoc measures”.

Accra has experienced annual flooding for many years during the rainy season, which runs until September.

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Source: BBC

One Response to Petrol station fire in Accra, Floods bring chaos, Death toll at 96

  1. Mayve June 4, 2015 at 8:34 pm

    Its a shame

    Reply

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