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Report: Almost 100 lives lost in fire at Goil filling station at Circle

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Scattered burnt bodies, debris from burnt houses, vehicles and goods

were evidence of Wednesday's blazing fire that engulfed a Goil filling

station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

The incident which started around 10pm Thursday stretched personnel of

the Ghana National Fire Service to their limit in their attempt to

bring the fire under control.

The flood that accompanied the torrential rains also impeded the work

of the rescue team.

When Joy News got to the scene, the fire which started from the Goil

filling had spread to four buildings which house businesses, reducing

everything to ashes.

When it became apparent that fighting the fire was going to be a

herculean task, the fire service personnel focused their attention on

rescuing individuals who were trapped in nearby buildings.

They succeeded in bringing out more than 10 people alive but the

absence of an ambulance meant they had to struggle to stay alive after

their rescue.

At 2am, the fire officers with help from the Police and a few

volunteers managed to bring the fire under control but also started

the darkest part of the exercise.

Access to the razed filling station revealed burnt bodies of tens of

people and their positions clearly showed their unsuccessful

struggleto survive.

Few minutes passed 4am and the bodies were retrieved, packed in two

Kia cargo trucks headed for the morgue.

When daylight appeared, the magnitude of the disaster became clear

with bodies scattered around. As the search for missing family and

friends intensified, businesses also began to count their losses.

Deputy Public Relations Officer with the Ghana Fire Service,

PrinceBilly Anaglateh said he personally counted 73 bodies.

Many of the dead bodies were retrieved from a nearby pharmacyshop.

These victims, like those who died at the filling station, had taken

shelter there during the rainbut could not escape the blazing fire

when the explosion occurred.

President John Mahama has already been to the scene of the incident

and has expressed shock at the scale of the disaster, promising to

ensure it does not occur again.

Credit: Joy News|Elton Brobbey

Kofi Oppong Kyekyeku

I am a Ghanaian Broadcast Journalist/Writer who has an interest in General News, Sports, Entertainment, Health, Lifestyle and many more.

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